gcom007

Possible, I started with flu and then went on antibiotics b/c I developed strep throat as well. This started the first week of January. I've been healthy for a little over a week now. It's been rough. And it's not good news for anyone b/c he's still probably going to start whether he should or not and good chance he's not going to be as prepared as he should be. I was complaining about consistency with both our goalies well before all this back and flu stuff came up and well, yeah, now look at how it's shaking down...

Just incase you guys missed it, antibiotics have no effect on the flu. It's a virus. Antibiotics help fight off bacteria. That's very different. There are a few, maybe four antiviral medications that can treat flu so Hasek may be on one of those but it's rarely prescribed unless it's a very bad case as it's just not real good to pump these sorts of things into your body all willy nilly style so like I said, either Holland's blowing smoke and it's another issue or Dom's in rough shape. Honestly, it'd probably be better if he was really injured. Given how bad the flu's been this year, he's likely to recover quickly from another hip or back problem than the flu.

What can you say? Definitely cause for concern. Best thing we can do is hope for the best. I would think he'd be able to play at some point in the playoffs if we don't get knocked out in the 1st round if not before. I don't think it's "that" bad, knock on wood. Thankfully I don't think his game will take too long to get back on track.

Umm, the flu is a viral infection. You can't treat it with antibiotics or much of anything for that matter. Either Holland doesn't know the difference between antibiotics and antiviral medications or he's blowing smoke. If he is indeed on antiviral medication for the flu it is probably quite severe as more often than not it's not prescribed except in the worst cases. I had the flu and its after-effects incredibly bad January-February and went to the doctor three times as it wasn't getting better and they still wouldn't put me on any antivirals and he said I had a horrible case of it. ... I'll just say this again: the goalie decision will absolutely go down to the wire.

Relevant point but none the less A) I'm quite skeptical about him actually having the flu and if it were any other player around this time of year, you know you'd be saying the same thing and B) he's still missing MORE time that he needs to get rolling. It's looking like more and more of a gamble to go with a goalie who hasn't played consistently well let alone consistently at all for the entire year. I'm hardly and Osgood fan-boy and I haven't been particularly impressed with him anymore than Hasek lately at all, but if you don't see how silly this is looking, you're just kidding yourself. I'm not saying he won't start or couldn't even be great and stay healthy, I'm just, the more this goes on and the closer it gets, the bigger the gamble and with someone like Osgood who's more than capable of stepping up, he's beginning to look like the better choice. It's not 1998 anymore.

Too deep? He said it himself. He needs these 3 weeks to be ready to go because now he's not. These 3 weeks are just enough. Now he's missing at least 4 days on the ice? Again, even if it's just the flu, this is just getting ridiculous. I'm calling it now: Osgood plays well tomorrow, they're splitting to the finish and if Osgood plays it straight the whole time, good chance he's starting. After all, we don't even know if he'll be back on the ice for sure Thursday. He's been out longer than first reported each time he's been "out" thus far this year.

Yeah, I agree, he's always going to have a little more clout because for better or for worse depending on the day, his jersey says Hasek. You can't argue with that and some days you love it, some days you worry. I'll fully admit that I'm an anxious person in generally, but I just don't want to see another Ottawa situation. I think it's getting to the point where realistically you can say that both of them are more than capable of playing when they're on, but Osgood's looking a lot more stable down the stretch. You start Osgood and you may not get the Hasek high's he's certainly still capable of when he's on his game, but you have to ask, if the skaters can turn it up like they did last year, will they really need someone who's maybe a little bit better on some nights? I mean, considering the fact that Hasek's been inconsistent when in net and inconsistent in terms of health, is it worth the gamble to start him and have him either A) not play his A-game or B) get injured halfway through forcing a cold Ozzie to bring his A-game when it matters most? A week or two ago I honestly didn't care who started and was fine thinking Hasek would be the starter. I thought both needed to pick up the consistency but figured hey, there's time. At this point, I'm sorry, but I'm just not digging the idea of Hasek starting. Not at all. I just don't think it'd be a wise move at all. Even at his best now he's not the goalie he was ten years ago and given everything else, I just don't think it's worth the gamble at all.

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20072008/GS020283.HTM Nov. 17 game Osgood didn't start b/c of flu but he backed up. Media reported as well beforehand that "it's just the flu so he can backup" more or less.

That too. No way in hell they would have him off the ice this week if it wasn't serious business. No way. If they think for a second he's going to be starting he's on the ice everyday unless he's truly injured. I think he'd at least be backing up if it was just the flu. I believe when Osgood missed a start with the flu he still backed up earlier this year but I could be wrong.

They don't need to say someone has the flu to rest them for the playoffs. That's silly. You just rest them. It's very common. You say a player has a flu when he's injured and you don't want to say where to manage the media and people taking advantage of it upon return. Furthermore, most players bounce back from the flu after a day. They know today, so he's not making the trip and he'll be back in practice Thursday? I just really doubt we're talking flew here. I'd guess hip or back.

Interesting to look at but I'm not quite sure where to run with it. The penalties one is interesting. Without looking at it game to game which really would be necessary I think, I would say that one reason why Hasek might've given up more power play goals is that teams have more room to move and make quick plays and Hasek tends to just go down. If you've got space, a bit of time and an IQ of 65 or higher, you're going to try to move the puck fast in front and get a shot off high and good chance you'll score. It's a style thing at that point. I'm really not sure if that's good or bad though let alone accurate of the issue presented here. In terms of Osgood, you've also got to keep in mind that he played quite a few of those games when we not only were slumping but we were missing 4 out of our 6 NHL d-men not to mention more guys up front. I think he could've and should've played better in that period like he did during the slump earlier in the year, but at the same time, they had everything going against them for a couple weeks there and Osgood did face the brunt of it. I probably gave him more crap for it than anyone who's not a hater but even so, it's tough to argue with a slumping group of skaters and the Griffins on defense. That hurts his numbers. Generally though, I think it's pretty reflective of the reality of the matter in that during the regular season, Osgood's clearly been the better and more consistent goalie. I don't think anyone could argue that whether they think Hasek should start in the playoffs or not and furthermore, as we all know, the regular season is a different game, so we'll see. But clearly, he's been the better goalie when it really shakes down.

Great to see Cleary back. I don't believe Hasek has the flu. I wasn't leaning towards either goalie for the playoffs down the stretch. I am now officially leaning towards Osgood again. Even if it's just the flu. When he hasn't performed consistently all year and he hasn't even exactly been healthy enough to start consistently up to this point, I think you're just asking for trouble. I'm sure both he or Osgood can perform well and rise to the occasion, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with Osgood as the steady man down the stretch. And I don't think for a second that Hasek starting is a done deal no matter what management may say to the media. This will go down to the wire.

That's our coach! I love being able to say that. I can't wait to hear about the new contract so I can get comfortable with the long term. I'm pretty confident he's going to be here a long while b/c he's too good to get fired even if the team doesn't do as hot, but I doubt that'll ever be an issue.

I think they've still looked pretty sloppy lately. That kind of play won't win playoff games and beating up on the Blue Jackets isn't exactly an accomplishment. I'm not booing, but I'm not going to applaud too much or get too excited until I see what they decide to do in the playoffs. Our D needs to be tighter, we need to get Cleary and Homer back and producing like normal and our goaltending needs to be tighter and consistent. Again, not hating, just saying I'm not going to get too high on this team until the playoffs should they deserve it then.

7 shots through 2 by Columbus. Unreal. What's the record for least shots in a game?

LOL! Ditto! And damn that show for totally messing me up. I swear, Thursday's from 10-11 after LOST I become so emotionally unstable. I just fee like yelling at everything!

It'll be pretty quick. Then we'll be screwed.

I think we're going to have to play a great game to win this one. Not that we should be upset if we lose because Nashville's desperate and we're still not 100% (moreso now missing Stuart...) and we're not in a position to have to be desperate. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a loss if we don't have our A-Game for 60 minutes.

I thought he'd turn it on sooner or later this season. He was on track to do it last year but when he got ran it really threw his game off. But he's just too hard of a worker to not find this kind of success and with more confidence, experience and ice time, he's only going to get better. I love the guy on this team.

I'm all for everyone getting a chance, but I don't expect Hasek to play super well next game even if he's great for the playoffs. He hasn't had a great bounce back victory like everyone suggest yet this year that I can remember. Not that he's played bad, but every time he plays a crappy game people suggest that he's going to totally shut the door and he still lets in 3 goals. I'm not saying don't support him, I'm saying it's reasonable to discuss the reality of the matter in a rational manner without over-hyping it. That doesn't make it bad or wholly negative. Sometimes things just are the way they are.

Franzen was picking up his game well before the injuries. He's always been a hard worker but I've steadily seen his confidence and general game improving over the course of this year. I figured at that rate he'd come out strong and really come into his own for the playoffs. The opportunity provided by the injuries has just sped that process along and at this point he's more poised than ever to step up and have a great playoffs.

He was getting there last year before he got run behind the net. Between shaking that off and getting this opportunity, I think he's catching up to where he was and that's a real good thing. I really want to know where all the people ripping me on deadline day for saying that Franzen would pick it up for us are now. Franzen just works too hard to not be rewarded and there's no better time for this to be happening.

Maybe if he meant GAA I'd dig it, but, umm, no. I think Sv.% is actually more impressive on a team like the Wings that gives up so few shots. It takes a lot of work to keep it up there when it's almost a given that the other team's going to find it in them to get 1-2 goals a game no matter how many shots they take and all the while it's not unusual for the Wings to allow fewer than 20 shots. I mean, geez, playing us on a day like today, you let in 3 goals but you stop 43 others and you've still got a .935! Even letting in 4 goals leaves you at .913. You let in a couple goals on anything less than 20 and you're in the upper .800's. Our D forces opponents to make great plays to get shots so that can definitely be tough on a goalies Sv.%.

Exactly. At their best, I think both of our goalies can match Luongo. They're going to need to because I'm not convinced at all that Cleary's going to be Cleary until the 3rd round or so should we get that far. If we do it'll be just in time, but hey, we still gotta get there so our D and goaltending are going to have to be top notch. We're likely going to be in a lot of 1 goal games so we're not going to be able to afford the liberty of maintaining a lead. The skaters are going to need to trust that if they take some chances to tie it up or up the ante that our goalie will meet them where they're at and be there for the big save. And seriously, sure, I like Osgood more than Hasek generally speaking, but I want to win and whoever is best for that should start. I don't care. But more so, as far as LGW is concerned, I'm very unbiased in terms of calling it how it is for both goalies with no slant. Granted, it may only be due to the fact that I can't stand that so many on both sides are so ignorantly biased and unwilling to be realistic. It just irritates me. It's never Osgood's fault and everyone just wants to hate on Hasek. Shut up with that crap already! No one's perfect and calling it how it is doesn't make you less of a fan. If you can be objective, sure, you gotta deal with the downs and sometimes it sucks, but the ups and high's are so much better. Being close-minded and irrational about it just turns it all gray ultimately. Blah.

And to prove it, considering how good with the puck Osgood is, I don't think he has any excuse for flubbing up that goal yesterday. Miscommunication or not, someone as good as he is behind the net needs to make a better/smarter play than he did. But hey, when you stop everything else sans a deflection en route to a win and a .923, you gotta say good game. Not great, but good. But as we know, I only accept great games once the playoffs come around so back to square one! One of these guys needs to get it together quick or I'm going to start trying to get more excited about Howard next year than I ever rationally should!