gcom007

I have no issue with Conklin at all. He seems like he's got great character and he's had a real solid year. But I'm not going to get my hopes up about the playoffs and him signing an extension until we see how he handles himself in the playoffs. It's a different game and we more than anyone ought to recognize that with what we've been through. If he starts or comes in to support Osgood in the playoffs, I'll support him and cheer for him because he's on our team and if he proves himself, great. But the regular season only says so much about a guy and I'm not going to get ahead of myself. And I'm going to hope as well that the guy who won us a Cup 8 months ago and made a Conn Smythe case for himself returns to form. This is pretty simple. Hype and bandwagon fans make it a bigger deal than it is. It will work itself out in time.

Like I said, I think they meant ten days between starts, which will hold. The issue is bad reporting tactics used to sensationalize something that's a little deal, but not quite as big of a deal...

I think they meant 10 days between starts for Osgood which makes more sense given the breaks in the schedule and all. It also makes it a lot less dramatic than some have made it out to be as well. I still believe Osgood will find a way to turn this around. I think he'll have to battle a lot harder than last year for fewer results, but I think he'll find a way.

Are you kidding me? Lock him up? Maybe he'll start in the playoffs and play great, but no way in hell do you "lock him up" until then. We'd still be paying for Legace's therapy if we took that perspective. All this feel-good mumbo jumbo doesn't mean squat until he proves he can do it when it counts and he hasn't done that yet.

I posted this as of a couple weeks ago in another thread. A breakdown of how many GA games they had as well as a bit more info about certain circumstances. When people saw that it didn't make Conklin look too good, it was pretty much ignored.

Neither right now. I'd bet you $10,000 that Conklin would fail too. He will fail. 100%. Conklin might be more overrated than Legace was right now. It's really unbelievable. I think he's done a fine job this year, but great? Not a chance in hell. No way. He's had plenty of shaky starts as well. He's given up 3+ goals in more games than he's given up 2 or less. He's also got a comparable W-L record to Osgood's and similar 2009 stats. This is Manny Legace all over again...

Actually, Hasek had a lot of rough spots in front of a defense that was playing 10X beter than our guys are playing this year. And you're not even disputing my point really. I agree, they're completely different circumstances. You had 2 Cup winners last year capable of starting. This year you have the defending Cup winner and a guy with 5 minutes of playoff experience. And if Ty Conklin's such a great goalie, why is his W-L record basically the same as Osgood's? And why has he posted nearly identical numbers as Osgood if you look at January and February since Osgood's come back from injury?

And Conklin's got basically the same W-L record as Osgood this season. So, what's your point again?

We're doing fine with points and have been all year. If there's one stat that doesn't lie it's that. Again, Osgood hasn't put up good numbers, but he's got a lot more wins than losses.

Right. Ever heard of clearing waivers?

Our defense has melted down as well and Conklin isn't playing well enough to carry a team in the playoffs and he's got 5 minutes experience. Seriously.

Absolutely not, but that's what y'all don't get. It's not the playoffs. Until we get there, we need to do what's necessary to get Osgood going. But I'll tell you, if the team as a whole played as half-heartedly as they did today in a playoff game, Osgood would hardly be the only guy I'd be ready to string up.

I can attest to the truth of this. And I thought Osgood was the better goalie all year and had a feeling that he would show up in the playoffs, but I said all along, Hasek at his best is the best option so you have to give him the chance to be the best. Osgood is the best option this year and going to Conklin with his 5 minutes of playoff experience is like going to Legace; it's not even remotely like going to Osgood who has over 300 wins and a Cup to his name already coming off of a remarkable regular season.

Unlike you, I want to see my team do whatever they have to do to get the starting goalie ready for the playoffs when winning truly counts.

It also hasn't been as inconsistent as most have made it out to be, for example, how everyone rips on him in his Islanders days despite the fact that he carried them into the playoffs and posted better numbers than he did in Detroit despite playing for an overall pathetic team. This isn't about the fact that he is having a bad year. He is. Clearly. But he is the starter for the playoffs. He has to get going. He has to find a way. I still think he's showing signs of getting there. I said even after the last game where he played pretty well and got player of the game despite the loss that I don't think he'll be all there for 3-4 more weeks. I stand by that. I think he's on the up and I think he's going to arrive when it matters. If he doesn't, well, it wasn't meant to be. There will be no instance of "we lost in spite of Conklin." It will never happen. Osgood has to get going.

I'll tell you what they absolutely feel less confident in: Ty Conklin as the Playoff Starter. They may not be confident in Osgood right now, but they know that the only way they've got a shot is if Osgood get's going. They're not foolish enough to think Conklin's the answer.

His last couple starts were fine. And though I'll tarred and feathered for saying so, tonight's didn't phase me. I think he played bad and should've stopped some of those goals and you obviously want that first one back, but there were a lot of weird plays/bounces too as well as some truly great saves as well that make this a bit easier to swallow for me. I'm not happy for it and I would've loved for him to come out and play like he did the last couple games, but I don't think he went completely backwards either. And honestly, again, considering that he will be the starting goalie, I wish Babcock would cut this competition stuff and just keep playing Osgood for awhile. Even if it means we lose a lot of ugly games. We need to get Osgood going. I stress NEED. We're not trading for another goalie and the only thing more idiotic than thinking Osgood's played well this season is thinking Conklin has what it takes to carry a team in the playoffs with his five minutes of experience and all.

Right on. Who's happy about today? No one. Who's happy about Osgood's play today? No one. But he's our #1. I don't care how bad Osgood looks or how well Conklin's looked this season, Osgood's #1 going in and he won us a Cup in stellar fashion 8 months ago. I'm not happy, but I want him to get going. Seeing as he's going to be the starter, I'm not going to throw him under the bus. I'm going to keep supporting him. Hell, if I were coach, he'd be starting every game until he started showing consistency as opposed to the opposite. You've got to get him going. Manny, I mean Ty is not the answer.

YOUR LOGIC: non-existent.

I don't see this at all. I think everyone, even the hardcore Osgood lovers who want to marry him and all think he's had a rough season and needs to play better. I don't think anyone has suggested otherwise. I think truthfully you have two groups of people generally speaking... One group consists of either Osgood haters/starter haters. It's always the starting goalies fault with these guys and the backup is always better. This mentality really shined in the Manny Legace era. The other group consists of Osgood lovers/objective hockey fans. These guys call it how it is no matter who is in net. They have recognized that there have been a tremendous amount of defensive issues this season with the team and they attribute many GA more to the D this season than the goalie. That is, when it's relevant. Unfortunately, with the vast amount of turnovers, odd man rushes and breakaways we're giving up this year, it's tremendously relevant. While these people recognize that Osgood isn't playing as well and needs to play better, they also see that neither goalie is getting much help from the D and with Osgood underachieving somewhat, it's making him look at times worse than he is and it's making it hard for him to get going. But these people realize that at the end of the day, Osgood's the capable guy and you've got to get him going. That doesn't mean that we think what he's doing now is fine. It's not. I've said all along that he needs to play better. But saying he's improving doesn't mean he's there or I'm satisfied. This isn't black and white. There's a lot of other colors and plenty of gray. More than anything, I just want to reiterate that, everyone needs to chill and let this stuff play out. We're better off supporting whoever is starting than tearing at anyone. It doesn't help the fan perception does add to the pressure believe it or not. I would rather be a fan supporting our guys than the fan ready to slit their throats. People just need to chill...............

Yep. This is the one thing I've been a little "eh" about in regards to Bowman/Babcock. They're big into calling guys out and putting the pressure on that way and at times you need it, but I think especially with a goalie, sometimes you've got to just keep them in there and let them work their game out.

So if we're going to go by this logic, (though in general we don't if you look at any GDT where Conklin's starting) Conklin isn't exactly looking like the hottest goalie either. Again, just look at the numbers...they don't lie, and despite the shutouts (which tend to be the result of OUTSTANDING team games and/or play against league-worst teams), the rest of the games aren't near as pretty as it seems. So again, explain to me why it's a better idea to go with a guy who has 5 minutes of playoff experience over Osgood with 2 Cups?

First, when you've got a guy like Conk's, a solid career backup with 5 minutes of playoff experience and a guy like Osgood who won a Cup last year in an outstanding manner at that, I think it's still fair to refer to past accomplishments. We're less than a year removed from a guy who shutout the Penguins plus Hossa 2 games in a row to open up the Stanley Cup Finals. Osgood beat the Penguins and won the Cup while Conklin watched from the Penguins bench 8 months ago. Osgood could've easily won the Conn Smythe and no one would've been surprised. And it wasn't a fluke. He played great period all year. He has the ability. You're really going to try to tell me that you don't want to even give him a chance to step up for the playoffs because you'd rather go with a goalie with 5 minutes of playoff experience who put up descent regular season numbers? Really? Like, for realsies really? Then for getting knocked out early, sure, fine, whatever...it happens. I doubt it will be because of Osgood but I all but know it sure as hell won't be in spite of any great play from Conklin. The guy's got 2 shutouts that the defense handed to him in '09 and his numbers are still just a bit better than Osgood's '09 numbers. And again, 5 career playoff minutes. And I've criticized Osgood plenty this season and I've said in this thread he needs to keep improving. Absolutely. Without a doubt. He can play much better. He has plenty of potential and age isn't much of a factor in his style and he's not even that old yet. He needs to turn it up to 11. But I think he will and he absolutely has earned the right to prove that he can. Did I mention that Conklin has 5 career playoff minutes? Osgood has 2 Cups to his name. He won the Cup 8 months ago. Conklin watched from the bench. Seriously?!? I'm embarrassed that this is even necessary to discuss. Again, I'm not saying Osgood's played great or even that you have to like him. But it's nothing short of IDIOTIC to suggest that Conklin will or should be used as anything more than a last resort if Osgood can't make it happen when it truly matters. Until then, Osgood is the starting goalie for the Detroit Red Wings. He deserves and needs our support. Get behind him.

I don't think Osgood has been great in 2009 but I think he's been playing better. I think he really has been a victim of some horrible defensive breakdowns that make him look worse than he is right now. I truly think he'll find his A-Game in the next 3-4 weeks as other things get sorted out. And truthfully, we really don't need the A-Game until then.

Well, at least he's got more shutouts this season than career playoff minutes!