Outsider

Wrong. What games/team were you watching? Osgood started badly in Sweden. As did Howard. As did the entire Team. He posted solid, strong Wins against Chicago, Washington, and Los Angeles in October. He was bad against Buffalo, (but also received absolutely no help whatsoever from the Team in front of him), played a decent game against Colorado only to lose in the Shoot-Out, played well enough against Phoenix in an OTL, and was pulled (probably prematurely), after 7 minutes and two goal against in Vancouver. He shut-out Boston, and beat San Jose 2-1 in the Shoot-Out to open November, then got hammered in Toronto. It turns out, he was probably suffering from the flu, as the Wings called Grand Rapids that night after the Game to have Larsson called up. As for what Babcock has "in the back of his mind", Babs himself stated that Osgood was better to open this Season than he was for the first couple of months of last Season. The Wings, as a Team, were BAD to open the Season. While Osgood was giving up goals in bunches to Toronto and Buffalo, Howard was answering in kind to Edmonton and Anaheim and Dallas.

Again...you keep telling yourself that. I'll keep remembering that the exact same things were said about Legace in 2005-2006, (wherefrom I think Babcock learned his lesson), and about Conklin last year. And you also keep telling yourself that Howard's record and stats have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's facing bottom feeder Teams, and when he does face "decent' to "good" Teams, he's earned a total of TWO of a possible TWELVE points. And I'll bear in mind that Jeff Drouin Deslauriers is NOT a Vezina candidate just because he allowed one goal against the Wings. Nor Alex Auld. Nor Ondrej Pavelec. Steve Mason. Nor Pekke Rinne. It's not that they're "great", or even that they're PLAYING "great" when they face the Wings. It's that the Wings, (right now), cannot score to save their lives. JUST LIKE THE TEAMS THAT HOWARD IS FACING. Why is it that Wings fans roundly lament the fact that "We're making this scrub look like Patrick Roy!" because the Wings cannot score goals, but fail to recognize that a very large part of Howard's current success stems from the fact that the Teams HE is facing suffer from the SAME PROBLEM, and that their fans are lamenting the fact that their Team is making a scrub rookie look like a Vezina Candidate?

Perhaps when Howard starts to consistently play against some Teams that are not below the Wings in the Standings. Your "critical thinking" is faulty. Howard has not "happened upon" Starts against the weak Teams. He's being handed them. Almost ALL of the Games in December were against "weak" Teams. The only one which weren't? New Jersey Nashville Chicago (twice) Arguably Phoenix Osgood got the Start against the Devils. Osgood got the Start against the Preds. Osgood got the tougher start, on the second night of back-to-backs, on the road, against Chicago. Howard played well against Phoenix. But that's only "coincidence", and the fact that Howard "ran into" all of the weak Teams on the schedule, while Osgood was, purely "by coincidence", pulled off the bench to face the "good" Teams, in the "tougher" situations. Okay. Let's look at October and November, then. October St. Louis - Osgood St. Louis - Howard Chicago - Osgood Washington - Osgood Buffalo - Osgood LA - Osgood Colorado - Osgood Phoenix - Osgood Colorado - Howard Vancouver - Osgood Edmonton - Howard Calgary - Osgood Hmmm.....Twelve Games, total. Nine Games against "decent" to "good" Teams. Osgood gets eight of the nine, and Howard one? And three games against "bad" Teams. Osgood gets one, (the Season Opener), and Howard gets the other two. Coincidence. Pure coincidence. Okay....November, then.... November Boston - Osgood San Jose - Osgood Toronto - Osgood (after which it was reported that Osgood had "the flu", and Larsson was called up immediately after the Toronto Game) Columbus - Howard (Osgood sick) Vancouver - Howard (Osgood sick Anaheim - Howard (Osgood sick) Dallas - Howard (Osgood sick) Florida- Osgood (first Game back from flu) Montreal - Howard Nashville - Osgood Atlanta - Howard Calgary - Osgood St. Louis - Howard Dallas - Howard Gee....I guess that's "coincidence" too, that Howard faced all of the CBS's, and DAL's, and MON's, and EDM's, and STL's on the schedule because he was "hot", while Babcock pulled a "sick" Osgood, (who reportedly lost over 10 lbs during his bout with the flu), off the bench to face Nashville and Calgary, after getting his feet wet against Florida. Yeppers. Purely coincidence. Again. In answer to your question about "Who the hell has Ozzie faced?": Boston. Buffalo. Calgary (x2). Nashville (x2). San Jose. Los Angeles. New Jersey. Washington. Chicago (x2). He shut-out Boston. Lost to Buffalo. Won against the Sharks. Won 1 and lost 1 against Calgary. Lost in OT, (so earned a point), against the Devs. Went 1 and 1 against Nashville. Won against Los Angeles. Won against Washington. And earned the split against Chicago. So, out of a total of twelve games against "good" Teams, Osgood has earned 15 of a possible 24 points. What you should be asking is "Who the hell has Howard faced?" Well, let's see: St. Louis (x3). Edmonton (x2). Columbus (x3). Atlanta. Vancouver. Anaheim (x2). Has he faced any "good" Teams? Well - Colorado (L). Phoenix (W). Dallas (1W - 2L). Chicago (L). So in SIX Games against "decent" to "good" Teams..... Howard has earned a total of 2 points of a possible twelve? Really? And since you're so quick to point out how many "bad" Teams Osgood has lost to: Howard has lost to St. Louis (twice), Columbus, Edmonton, (twice) To be honest, the Wings haven't faced many "good" Teams at all thus far this Season. But when they have, the game has almost always gone to Osgood. And when they DO face off against the "good" Teams, it's been ONE goalie who's been racking up the points against them.The only exception being the second Game against Chicago. (Which was, for the record, a loss - by the same excact score), by both Wings goalies. If the Osgood fans have "blinders" on.....YOURS are no less evident.

That depends, zack. If Goalie A Starts 10 games against 10 of the worst, lowest scoring Teams in the League, and loses them all in the shoot-out, and Goalie B Starts all of his games against Top 10 Teams, and some of the highest scoring Teams in the League, and allows, (on average), FEWER goals against than each of these Teams average, and Wins.... Then yes. Goalie B is playing better than Goalie A. If Goalie A faces 10 penalty shots by Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers, and allows only 5 goals..... And Goalie B faces 10 penalty shots by Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, and allows 7 goals..... Is that a fair indication of who "played the shooter" better? You have to consider the SHOOTER, as well as the goaltender. Or are you stating that a clear cut, one-on-one breakaway by Ryan Callahan is equally as deadly as one by Alex Ovechkin? And that there's no difference in the level of skill, experience, or anticipation required to stop one over the other. Howard is facing crap competition. And he's still lost 50% of his past 10 Starts. Osgood is facing some of the best Teams in the League, and over his past 10 Starts, while his stats haven't been "as good" has Howard's have been, he's been fairly close, in ALL categories. INCLUDING the all-important "we need every point we can get" category. And all while Howard is facing competition where the Wings have at least a 50/50 shot of Winning,(and in many cases - better than even odds), whereas the competition that Osgood is facing, almost without expcetion, (with the Team as currently configured), gives him about a 20% chance of Victory, even if he DOES play well.

Again, he's lost 3 of his last 5, and 5 of his last 10. Now, whether or not those losses were "his fault" or not, they are losses, just the same. And - just in case you've missed it - some of those losses came against some of the worst Teams in the League. Cripes....you're touting Howard's last few games against Columbus as some kind of litmus test against how he'll do versus a Team which has actually scored some goals this month, and which has actually won more than TWO Games in their past TWENTY PLUS. What happens when the Wings are facing real, tough, competition - Teams like Washington, and San Jose, and Pittsburgh. You know....the "more equal" Teams in this League filled with such obvious "parity", where the "only thing" separating the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Pittsburgh Penguins is "only 13 points". Because we all know that on any given night, Tampa Bay has the chance to be just as good as the Pens. Just as the New York Islanders, on any given night, can be "equal" to the Washington Capitals. And the Anaheim Ducks, on any given night, can be "better" than the San Jose Sharks. All Teams are equal, apparently. And facing a steady diet of bottom feeders who haven't been able to find the back of the net for a month, against any Team they've faced, is no real indication that a goaltender is being shown to be better than he actually is. Of course not. Just as the Wings recent scoring ineptitude has not made some very mediocre goaltenders look like Vezina candidates when facing off against Detroit. Let's face it: Jeff Drouin Deslariers is a fantastic goaltender. That's why the Wings were only able to net one against him. Both Steve Mason and Mathieu Garon have been nails this Season. Hence the Wings inability to score on either of them with any kind of success. Gustavsson? Fantastic goaltender! Alex Auld? Vezina candidate in waiting....just never given a "real" chance. Rinne? Brilliant. Ondrej Pavelec...? (ummm....who?....what?). Well, obviously a fantastic goaltender! He shut out the Wings, after all. So we can all relax, I guess. It's not that the Wings have almost NO goal-scoring ablility lately. It's not that they're making every cruddy goaltender they face look like Roy in his prime.....It's just that they've run into....well.....The next Roy in his prime. Or....not. Perhaps the Wings inability to score goals is making these goaltenders look better than they actually are. Rather like some of the Offensively inept Teams that Howard has been facing are making him look better than he actually is. Could it be? Nah! Impossible! Not when all Teams are "equal" due to the "parity" in the League. Well then....the Wings are not having trouble scoring. They're just being stopped by "really good" goaltending. Is Howard going to continue to provide the goaltending the Wings need to Win games against the truly "good" Teams? Babcock is hedging his bets toward....NOT! That's why the poking, prodding, and jabbing at Osgood has begun in earnest. He knows who gives him the best opportunity to Win when the entire schedule for the month is not populated by bottom dwellers. And that's precisely why he's "prepping" Oz.

Once again....as is the point Osgood himself is trying to make in the article, and the point which I, and others, have been trying to make.... He hasn't been given an opportunity to do so. If and when he actually gets the opportunity, he'll make good on it. Listen to Babcock....he knows it too. He's expecting it. What he's doing right now is "poking" at Oz, keeping him on the bench, because he knows what effect that will have on him when he finally does give him a real opportunity. As for the last sentence....again....as I, and others, have been pointing out..... Howard's play can be nearly directly attributed to the level of competition he's facing. Are you honestly going to sit there, after watching him scramble around against Dallas and Chicago, and state with a straight face that Howard's record and stats would be remotely close to what they've been lately had be been facing tougher competition than Columbus, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and the like? Seriously? Why do you think Babcock is "poking" and "jabbing" at Osgood NOW.....? Hmmm.....??? Take a look at the schedule for next month. Babcock knows that he's got to get Ozzie on track for the spate of Games coming up. He can play Howard against the Ducks, and the Isles, and Carolina. He's had the luxury of relying on Howard for the past month because of the weakness of the schedule. You think it's simply "coincidence" that Osgood was brought off the bench to face all of the tough Teams on the schedule, with the exception of the second game against Chicago, (on their second night of back-to-backs)? Babcock knows that he NEEDS Osgood to be on top of his Game for San Jose, and Chicago, and Washington and Pittsburgh. That's why the "poking" and "jabbing" has begun.

Unfortunately for you, (and those who share your all to common mindset), Babcock and Holland disagree vehemently with you. You see....they realize that the wings DO need Osgood. Oh...and Osgood is absolutely right in this instance. Was Babcock "to be questioned" when he decided to go with Legace against Edmonton in 2006? I have it on rather good authority that he was, in fact, "questioned" - and by two of the most consummate "Team guys" in the history of the Game. He chose to ignore their advice. It got him exactly what those "two", (and others close to the situation), advised him it likely would. Babcock is not interested in Osgood "playing better". What he wants is for Osgood to be at his best. Recognize the difference. And learn to read between the lines of what Babs is saying, and doing. For you to even question Osgood's dedication to this Team, and his status as one of the best "Team guys" in the League is ridiculous in the extreme. What was it that Babcock stated earlier this month....right before Ozzie's start against Nashville?..... From MLive.... "Ozzie’s a good pro and a good teammate,'' coach Mike Babcock said. "Part of his job, just like (Kris) Draper and (Kirk) Maltby, is to help these kids get better. He’s done a real good job, he’s always supportive. He’s a proud guy, too. He’ll be ready to play tonight.’’ With all due respect, you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about.

LOL...talk about cherry picking stats. Yes, it's true. Osgood has never been the best shoot-out goaltender, and most shooters know his tendencies very well. Howard has been much better in shoot-outs. As was Conklin last year. Odd..... I wonder if Howard will fare as well once Players build up a "book" on him, too. Rather like Raycroft. And Hiller. And LeClaire. And Mason. And Price. And Toskala. Oh.... And Legace.

Boy....you are obtuse, aren't you.....? I'd say that letting in two goals, in OT, against a Team which had been averaging between 3 and 4 goals per game, a Team which has been on a goal-scoring TEAR of late, while playing with a depleted Team in front of you, after having not played regularly for over a MONTH..... Yeah. I'd say that Osgood was "great" against Nashville. Definitely.

AHAHAHA. You're funnier than even I gave you credit for, Carman. Remember..... That's what everyone said when Osgood was waived by the Wings in 2001. That's what everyone said when Osgood was traded to the Blues in 2003. That's what everyone said when Osgood injured himself in Training Camp in 2005, and Legace "won" the Starting job while Oz was on a conditioning stint in Grand Rapids. That's what everyone said when Osgood backed up The Dominator in 2007. That's what everyone said when Osgood split games with Dom in 2008. That's what everyone said when Osgood "lost" the Starting job to Ty Conklin last Season. Chris Osgood has been written off so many times, by so many people, for so many years. And yet.....and yet..... He just keeps picking himself up, dusting himself off, and spitting in the eyes of those who have declared him "done!". Over, and over, and over again. Notice a pattern? The latest rounds of "ptooey!" came (one), with a Stanley Cup Ring attached, and (two), with two Conn Smythe worthy performances in goal. Ville Leino would KILL to have a career half as successful as Chris Osgood. You're comparing apples to pencils.

Firstly: He was "great" against Nashville. And he was "rewarded" for that "great" performance by three straight Games on the bench. As I posted in my original post.....way back on page 1..... So much for the "....if Ozzie had had a good night.....he would have started....." mentality. Secondly: How is he supposed to attain any level, (at all), let alone "greatness", when he's plays one game, then sits for 3 or 4, regardless of how he performs in that one game? What Babcock is saying is that Osgood needs to show that he can "earn" his Starts - that he can "do the job". What Osgood is saying is that he's already proven that he has the ability to "earn" his Starts - that he can "do the job". Now all he needs is for Babcock to get out of the way and let him do the job he's proven himself capable of doing. Babcock wants Ozzie at his best, because he knows, (correctly so), that Osgood at his best gives this TEAM the best possible chance of success. We have seen what a "hot" Howard can do. Howard, "at his best", is 2-3 in his last 5, and 5-5 in his last 10. And THAT is against some really terrible Teams. We've also seen what a "hot" Osgood is capable of. "At his best", Osgood is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. Period. Get Ozzie back in the saddle, on top of his Game, and the Team will respond. They have a modicum of trust in Howard, based on his play to date this Season. Their confidence in a "hot" Osgood is exponentially greater than that, and hopefully will show up on the scoreboard, as well. But you've got to get the man playing. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

Really? It's not? Hmm..... How many goals has Columbus scored in their past TEN, giving credence to Howard's "spectacular!", "amazing!" Games against them? Fourteen. Fourteen goals. That's how many. Guess what? They're making EVERY goaltender they face look BETTER than they actually are. Just as the Wings have been doing. For some persective: How many goals have the offensively inept, "We can't score! We can't SCORE!" Red Wings put up in their past 10 Games? Seventeen. Seventeen goals. That's 3 more than Columbus has put up in the same timeframe. Hmmmm..... A "crappy" performance against a "very good" Team from Osgood nets 3 goals on 35 shots, on the second night of back-to-back games, on the Road, when his Team is outshot 20-35, and vastly outplayed for the entire Game. A "good" performance against that very same "very good" Team from Howard nets an equal amount of goals, on fewer shots, facing a Team on the second night of back-to-back games, at Home, in a Game where his Team outshoots the opponent by a slim margin of 33-31 Hmmmm...... For yet MORE perspective: How many goals had Nashville scored in the 10 games prior to Osgood's impressive Win against them? Thirty One. Thirty One goals. Wow. That's, like, 3.1 goals per Game, on average. And, (just for arguments sake), how many have they scored SINCE facing the Wings when they scored slightly less than TWO, (due to the very brief OT period), against the "brutal" Chris Osgood? Hmmm.......... Thirty three. Thirty three goals. In EIGHT Games. Gee.....that's......that's over FOUR goals per Game, on average. I can certainly see what you mean, Carman. Nope. Absolutely NO disparity in one Teams ability to score goals, regardless of opponent, and another Teams INability to score goals, regardless of opponent. No disparity whatsoever. None.

As with Conklin last Season.....I wouldn't be too sure about that. If you think that Howard isn't being used in a very specific, very calculated way, you're delusional. It's so obvious, it's almost embarrassing. And it is not being done to "ruin" Osgood. It's being done to "insulate" and "protect" Howard. And It. Is. Working. Howard has been exposed to the minimum amount of challenge and adversity possible, while at the same time having had his opportunity for success maximized to the greatest extent possible. He has capitalized on both ends of the spectrum. To be honest, he would have to be almost utterly inept NOT to have done so. As for "It's Howard's show".....again, I wouldn't be too sure about that. It was "Conklin's show" too, wasn't it? That is, right up until Babcock basically jabbed Ozzie and told him "Move! Now! We need you, because we all know that YOU give us the best chance!" I think Babcock learned his lesson with Legace in 2005-2006. Not for nothing, but he was "advised" by many of the vets on that Team.....a couple of whom are gone now....that it would probably be in everyone's best interest to go with Ozzie, regardless of how well Legace was playing that Regular Season. The vets weren't necessarily pleased, but it was Babcock's Team, and it was his call. He ignored the "advice", and went with "his" guy. We all know how that turned out.

Well, it would help your ability to "coherently discuss" this situation if you were able to understand the argument which is being put forward. I never argued that Babcock wants to ruin Osgood by playing him against the tougher Teams. What I argued is that ( a ) It is to be expected that Osgood will not fare as well as he, (and we), would like when he is only getting very limited playing time, and only against Teams the Wings have little to NO CHANCE of beating with their current roster. And ( b ) It is to be expected that Howard would be posting better numbers than Osgood, and enjoying more success, when he's getting more vastly more playing time, but ONLY against the weaker Teams in the League, almost without exception. I'm not sure what part of that is difficult for you to grasp.

Edit: Double post. Sorry...

LOL...talk about cherry picking stats. Yes, it's true. Osgood has never been the best shoot-out goaltender, and most shooters know his tendencies. Howard has been much better in shoot-outs. As was Conklin last year. Odd..... I wonder if Howard will fare as well once Players build up a "book" on him, too. Rather like Raycroft. And Hiller. And LeClaire. And Mason. And Price. And Toskala. Oh.... And Legace.

Right, Carman. You're right. And they almost always give the tougher game, against the better opponent, to the "hot" or "better" goaltender, and give the easier game, against the weaker Team, to the "weaker" goaltender. Once again....Babcock has done the exact opposite, all Season long, with only a single, solitary exception. He played Howard in Montreal, on the second night of back-to-backs, and Osgood in Florida on his first night back after his bout with the flu. Other than that? Take a close look, Carman.... B-2-B: Calgary then St. Louis? Osgood gets Calgary, Howard St. Louis. B-2-B: New Jersey then Rangers? Osgood gets New Jersey, Howard New York. - Coincidentally, Oz sat for 3 games prior to this Start against NJ. B-2-B: Anaheim then Nashville? Howard gets Anaheim, Osgood Nashville. - He also sat for 3 games prior to this Start against the tougher Team. B-2-B: Dallas then Chicago? Howard gets Dallas, Osgood Chicago. - Sat another 3 games, in spite of a fantastic Game against NSH. Take a look at the schedule closely, Carman. In every instance where a tough opponent comes up on the schedule, Osgood suddenly gets his "opportunity", whereas Howard is purposely given the weaker of the opponents. Without exception.

It's also pretty subjective considering that of those Games, Osgood faced nearly all of the "real" competition, whereas Howard has been playing, almost exclusively, against bottom feeders. Howard's "last 10" Columbus, (twice): 1-0-1 Chicago: 0-1 Dallas: 0-1 Tampa Bay: 1-0 Phoenix: 1-0 Anaheim: 1-0 St. Louis: 0-1 Rangers: 1-0 Oilers: 0-1 Phoenix and Chicago are the ONLY two Teams offering any real, concrete challenge. He STILL went 5-5, against some of the worst Teams in the League. Now....conversely: Osgood's "last 10" Chicago: 0-1 Nashville, (twice): 1-1 The Devs: 0-0-1 Flames, (twice): 1-1 Florida: 0-0-1 Toronto: 0-1 San Jose: 1-0 Boston: 0-1 Nah.....no disparity in talent there at all. The Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Ducks, and the St. Louis Blues are just as tough a Team to face, and beat, as the Flames, the Sharks and the Predators. No difference whatsoever.

Howard didn't play against Nashville because he got the easier Game, the night before, with a well rested Team in front of him, and faced the bottom feeder Duckies. Just as has happened all Season long. Most coaches play the "hot" hand, the "better" goaltender against the better Teams, in the tougher situations. Babcock is doing the exact opposite. It's been a pattern all Season long. Howard is being coddled, and allowed to pad his stats against the worst Teams in the League.

^^^Exactly.

LOL. There are fans who dub Howard the "35 Hole". For examples, see the 1st and 3rd goals allowed against Edmonton, and Kane's goal to close out the 3rd against the 'Hawks. There were many more examples toward the beginning of the Season, but those are the most recent. And you're right about the "positional miscues" argument. Take a good look. Against Teams who exhibit any true goal-scoring acumen, Howard looks overwhelmed, like a fish out of water. Again....See the Dallas Game, and the Chicago Game in particular. He's typically caught swimming around on his belly on the ice while the play buzzes around him. See Rafalski's two "saves" the other night, and Helm's "save" as well. Again....against "poor" Teams he appears to be fine. The Wings cannot go the whole Season playing against bottom feeders. Sooner or later, they're going to have to face the better Teams in the League.

You're acting as though Osgood is playing poorly. He's NOT. Period. He certainly hasn't been playing poorly enough to be benched. If he was playing badly you might have a point. He's not. So you don't. Your point about letting in "stoppable goals at crucial moments" would be easily illustrated in the games where Howard has faced a Team with ANY goal-scoring ability. Take your own suggestion and watch the highlights from the Edmonton, Dallas, and Chicago games. Two of his best statistical years in a nearly 20 year career have been his first on Long Island and his only full Season in St. Louis. He played 66 Games in the first example. He played 67 games in the second example. Next...... It only appears that they're splitting games because Osgood got the majority of Starts in the beginning of the Season, whereas Howard rarely played until Osgood got the flu. Since Ozzie's bout with the flu, he has not been given consistent playing time. And he's ONLY been thrown into Games against the best Teams in the League, after sitting on the bench for a week. You keep telling yourself that Howard's success has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that he's facing terrible Teams, almost exclusively, and that Osgood's hot/cold appearing performance has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that he's been thrown to the wolves after being benched for extended periods of time and then expected to come up with a performance in which, (in Babcock's exact words), "our goaltending was going to have to be outstanding", after having played two games all month, behind a Team on the second night of back-t0-backs, and against the #1 Team in the Conference. Yeah. Nothing whatsoever to do with it. Facing off against Columbus and Tampa Bay and Anaheim is just as much a challenge. Easily. Take a look at all Wings goaltending throughout the past 20 years. Osgood is, hands down, the most successful Wings goaltender of the modern era. The "early round flops" most certainly cannot be attributed to Osgood. Even that Game 7 in 1994 against the Sharks cannot be completely blamed on Osgood. If a goaltender lasts long enough in this League, it's almost a statistical certainty that he's going to have more "flops" in the Post Season than Cup Hoistings performances.

LOL....as I posted above.... How well were the Wings playing before those two goals. Answer: They weren't. You state that Howard let in the final goal once the game was "irrelevant". Guess what? From the drop of the puck in the first game against Chicago, that Game was "irrelevant". The Wings were never even in that Game. Period. At least Howard had a "contest" to work with. Osgood faced a shooting gallery, with NOTHING going on at the other end of the rink, and no interest in GETTING anything going. They had nothing that Game. Period. When does "motivation" become action, when there's no opportunity to do anything with that motivation? Or perhaps you're suggesting that Osgood should be able to improve his game, and post Wins and better stats, from the bench? And if you're going to use Osgood's game against Chicago as an example of "amazing softies", and the "worst five hole in the League right now", you might want to go back and take a look at Howard's game against Edmonton. The 1st and 3rd goals Howard gave up were easily some of the worst we've seen this year - no contest. Both of those goals were, quite literally, pathetic. And the other two weren't precisely fantastic shots, either. The Dallas game wasn't a shining example of "quality goaltending", either.

His game against Nashville was fairly close to spectacular. Where was the "...if Ozzie had a good night, he'd have started the next game" mentality then? Against Chicago, Osgood let in two really questionable goals at the close of the second period. Babcock stated after the game that those two goals "killed" them, and that they didn't play with any energy in the 3rd period. Ummmmmm..... The Wings posted FIVE shots on goal in the 1st, and FIVE shots on goal in the 2nd. It appears that they didn't play with any energy in either of those periods, either. Coincidentally, they posted TEN shots on goal in the 3rd, and Osgood was spectacular during that period. The Wings were outshot 35-20, and were never even IN that Game. Ozzie gave up 3 goals on 35 shots. He's been sitting since that Game. Howard faced the 'Hawks on the second night of back-to-back games for them. He allowed a goal 30 seconds into the 2nd period, another less than 4 minutes into the 3rd period, and another with less than 2 minutes in the final period. The Wings outshot the Hawks 33-31, and Howard allowed 3 goals on those 31 shots. I don't recall any comments about how it was "killing" the Team, who was outplaying the 'Hawks to that point, to have both of those goals go in at the very start of the period, and then another at the very close of the game. Howard has played every game since.

Harold, I consider you a very knowledgeable poster, and respect your opinion. But I find the above bolded comment very telling. To use your "hot/cold" analogy: When you turn a faucet on, the water that comes out is cold - even when you're turning the "H" spigot. It takes a bit for the water to warm up, so you gotta let it run. Immediately turning the spigot off because the water isn't "hot yet" doesn't do any good whatsoever. The water won't get any hotter if it's OFF, for Pete's sake. And when you come back, hours later, turn the "H" spigot on again, and then lament the fact that there's still no hot water, who's to blame? The fact that Osgood is playing as well as he is, with little to no playing time, is a testament to the fact that he is "working hard in practice". If Babcock wants him to get "hot", he's going to have to turn the spigot and let it run, rather than harping about how the water's not getting any hotter, no matter how long he leaves it off. Osgood has proven, for years, that when his Team needs him, truly needs him, he'll be there. Babcock needs to bear that in mind, and allow Ozzie to get back to where he needs to be. He's not that far off, as it stands. He's not going to get there from the bench.