haroldsnepsts

agreed. maybe the mods should pin this one and make an Ultimate Goalie Thread to keep all of it in here.

I thought he was coming of a really strong playoff performance last year in the AHL as well. The bottom line is you can't know for sure until he gets up to the NHL and plays some more games for the Wings.

True. I've said before that the best thing that could happen for Legace's career (and popularity) is for him to have a great year but have St. Louis just miss the playoffs.

only on the Wings could a 33 year old be called young.

Drake has much more to offer than Downey (especially when not playing with a shield). Admittedly he hasn't been great so far this season. Still, Drake's played twice the minutes of Downey and 5 more games. If Babs had Downey out there as much as Drake, his numbers would likely be similar or worse. But Babcock smartly has picked his spots with Downey. I've never been a huge fan of the guy, but hopefully Drake will get healthy and get his game back together. The best situation would be for Drake to be playing well AND have Downey out there picking up some minutes too. EDITED: meant to say when NOT playing with a shield.

I hope that love affair with Legace works out as well for them as it did for us.

I don't think it was ever really going to be 70/30, as long as Ozzy was healthy. But right now it does seem like it's 50/50.

wow. I sense much anger in you. As for the point of the whole thread, I can't really say. I didn't create it. But the relatively simple point of my post was mainly that Ozzy is hot right now and Dom isn't. I think the starts were always going to be 60/40 or possible even closer to 50/50 during the regular season. Since Ozzy is playing well and Dom isn't, I'd give him the bulk of the games RIGHT NOW until Dom starts playing better. You think it's irrelevant when the team's starting goaltender has among the worst numbers in the league? To me, that's cause for concern. (and as I've already said a thousand times, that's not to say he can't improve. But a 42 year old goalie with crappy numbers is a concern). If the situation was reversed and Ozzy had terrible numbers, but was still slated as the starter, how would that sit with you? It's so hard to even talk about this because anything I say gets taken to the absolute extreme.

I'm guessing it being on TSN does have a lot to do with it. But I'm a big Hull fan and I honestly wonder how good he'd be. He's got great passion for the game, but he also tends to shoot his mouth off and be pretty emotional. I'm not sure how problematic that would be as a GM. He doesn't strike me as the type that would soothe the egos of some of the prima donna players.

wow. you got all that from one sentence of mine? Untwist your knickers. You've basically assumed a lot of things and put words in my mouth in your rant. And you must've forgotten Yzerman's last season when his minutes were severely cut by Babcock, especially around mid-season. When Legace was here, it was all about the healthy competition to win the starting job. Why should it be different now? For the record, I'm not saying we should ditch Dom (as you implied in your rant), or that any determination for playoffs should be made in November. But when goalie A has a 9-1 record, a GAA of 1.80 and a SV % of .926 and goalie B has a 5-4 record a GAA of 2.89 and a SV% of .859 (lowest in the league last time I checked) it seems pretty clear to me who should be starting until things change. Because of Dom's age, both he and Ozzy were going to split games. But right now Ozzy is hot and Dom is struggling, so I'd say treat Ozzy like the starter but still keep Dom in the rotation. Then it's up to him to get his game back together and earn the starting job back. Don't you think he's capable of that?

I guess with Babcock ice time has to be earned at every position except goaltender.

I hate Bettman, but agree here. It's Campbell who handles these things, not Bettman. 4 games is decent. I wish it would've been a game or two more, which honestly would've been a bit much, but that's kind of the point. Keep fighting in the game, but get rid of stickwork like that. Personally I'd rather see someone like Koivu or Zetterberg on the ice than have them sidelined because of someone whacking them with a two-hander. There's better ways to handle the elbow that Koivu threw. really? because I'm starting to feel the same way about you as you do about hockey.

The thing is, how will you know which Wings forward is going to finish with zero goals scored or minimal points? It'd only be in hindsight you could say it would've been better to have Downey in there. He's been averaging a little over 4 minutes a game. Right where he should be in my opinion. I also hope that next time someone takes a pop at Hasek or Ozzy, they remember Downey's play and how they felt about it. It happens and it's part of the game. It doesn't necessarily make some player a dirtbag cheapshot artist.

Maybe he was too busy trying to swing a deal for Luongo?

You seriously have never seen a thread bashing Osgood? It hasn't happened this year, but it has pretty much any other year he's been on the team. Even those years he wasn't. When there was the Legace/Osgood tandem, people were falling all over themselves for Legace and would rip on Osgood. The guy won a Cup as the starting goaltender for the Wings, and there are still people who believe it was in spite of him, not because of him. Actually, that was mentioned just the other day in a thread. I seriously can't imagine how you've never seen a thread bashing Ozzy. Hasek has been bashed as of late, and there are a few regular detractors, but that's about it. Seriously, it's not even close to the grief Ozzy gets. People still bring up goals he let in 15 years ago.

ugly win, but i'll take it.

I see the Hasek slappies are still lobbying when Dom isn't in net. And are careful to point out when Ozzy didn't make a save. it's just like old times here with the goalie crap back. oh, and I hate shootouts.

Exactly. I mean, they scored a goal. Isn't it fairly obvious that in hindsight, he should've played it differently? but that doesn't mean there also wasn't interference.

Unless the name of the sweater said "Hasek" then it would've been interference. But since you can apparently see for certain what would've happened had Dom been in net, I'm guessing you already know that. EDIT: Think of how many goals Homer has had waved off when he doesn't actually impede the goaltender from making the save. Apparently they only are cracking down on him.

A Hasek fan yelling at Ozzie for not staying in the net. oooh the irony.

Also keep in mind how awful the Wings were back then. You'd think Gare would show some loyalty or fondness for the Wings, but it sure doesn't show.

Unfortunately that hasn't happened since at least 2002. He's been good, but not the Dominator. And for a little perspective, yes some are overreacting in bashing Dom, but if it were Ozzy, he'd be called the worst goaltender of all time and the lynch mob would be lighting torches. One category that Osgood unquestionably has Dom beat is in the lack of respect and the amount of bashing he gets here. It's not even close. They both won the same number of the Cups for the Wings, but you'd never know it from the way most people talk about Ozzy.

Can't watch the game, but 17 shots against in the first period?? what the heck is going on??

I could only translate part of that, but I'm guessing you're mocking me. Hmm, it seems my sarcasm detector is on the fritz. I blame all the ridiculous posts around here that you'd think were sarcastic, but people are being serious.

I'm not sure it warranted its own thread, but our starting goalie's save percentage is an obscure stat?