Outsider

Little on the prickly side, aren't you? Both counts being: 1.) I should post it about Hasek 2.) I would get "killed on this site" for doing so. Relax.....

Nah.....you're kidding. On both counts. Right?

***dingdingdingdingding*** Also of note is the ever present "Give (fill in blank) credit. They played hard." How much "credit" does the other guy deserve for punching you sqaure in the face over, and over, and over again when the only response you offer is to blink vacantly and enquire as to whether he'd like a kercheif with which to wipe the blood from his knuckles?

I don't think folks are necessarily "bashing", harold. I think they're more or less shocked. Fact of the matter is, you'd have to go back to the days when the Wings were botton feeders in order to find a Detroit goalie who's put up numbers comparable to those that MacD is currently posting. And this Wings Team could hardly be considered bottom feeders, by any stretch of the imagination. For a very long time, the Detroit Red Wings have prided themselves on the fact that they ice a Team strong enough for ANY goaltender to post decent numbers/have success during the regular season. It's a commonly held belief, (by those who don't know any better), that Osgood is nothing more than a barely mediocre goaltender who only won games at all because of the Wings Team in front of him. All things considered, MacDonald's performance, (especially in the 3rd Period), is shockingly bad when compared to EVERY Wings goaltender of the past 15 or so years. He's gonna catch some heat over that.

Looks can be deceiving. He might have had an "honest chance" at ALL of them if he had: a.) Better rebound control and b.) Better positioning. He's absolutely horrid in both aspects of the game. The reason some here credit him with making the odd "spectacular save" is because he's forced to do so, throwing whatever body part he can in front of the puck because he put the rebound in the worst possible spot at the worst possible time, or because he was so far out of position that he had to throw himself into the next area code in order to get back to the spot he SHOULD have been occupying in the first place. When a goaltender makes a spectacular/desperation save, 9 times out of 10 it's because he's overcompensating for an error he's made. It looks exciting, but it's usually nothing more than poor fundamentals/mechanics. Joey MacDonald is his own worst enemy. He makes his OWN job harder than it has to be.

The guy is just guessing at that now? Little slow on the uptake, isn't he?

I'm sure that's what Babcock is thinking, too....

According to Ted Kulfan.... Babcock has decided that MacDonald, not Osgood, will get the start against Philly on Monday.

Bucci loves hockey. And I mean he literally loves hockey. That makes him aces in my book.

I wouldn't count Nashville out as a Team in the market for a Starter. Any word yet on Vokoun's blood clot issue?

?!?!?!?!? Wow. I must be missing something..... Godard plays roughly 2:00 - 3:00 per game, and most Isles fans find him to be a waste of a roster space. The only thing he's good for is fighting..... And he hasn't exactly shown much proficiency in that area at the NHL Level, either. Looking at your handle, I can understand why you'd hold Godsy in high esteem. The vast majority of Isles fans, however, don't share your opinion of him. Neither, apparently, does Steve Stirling. In the 4 Games since Kevin Colley, (5'11", 185lbs.), has been called up from Bridgeport, he's had at least one fight in each of the four games, AND he's logged more ice time than Eric has. You'd be pretty hard pressed to find a Godard jersey in the crowd at NVMC, unless it was worn by a Sound Tigers fan. He WAS a fan favorite in Bridgeport.

Yes.....of COURSE! Because when the time comes for Howard to begin to take the reigns, transitioning from "back-up" to "goalie of the future" to "franchise netminder"..... What BETTER goaltender could one ask for as a mentor than a CAREER BACK-UP himself? Brilliant! <oy!>

But he WOULD, in your estimation, be perfectly comfortable resting the Wings entire Regular Season AND Play-Off hopes on a guy who's never played more than 41 Games in a Season and has a grand total of 4 Games and 10 minutes of Play-Off experience, (with a 2-2 Record), and the same fresh-out-of-college, rookie goaltender. Right?

No need to get combative. No....I don't presume to know more about hockey than the Head Coach of the Detroit Red Wings. As for Jim Howard coming in "cold" and playing well..... He started two games last week in Grand Rapids, AND, (as I'm sure you're aware), Howard's career to date has been limited to NCAA duty..... Where goalies play ONE Game per week. Two on a "heavy" schedule. He's used to "sitting" for a week between Games. He also had the benefit of the Wings BEST Defensive effort of the young Season to bolster him. Not only were pucks repeatedly swept out from in FRONT of him, a few of them were swept out from BEHIND him as well. IMMEDIATELY. I agree that Osgood has not played well enough to "prove" that he's "Starter material" thus far this Season. But I would respectfully submit that 12 years of getting the job done as a Starter in this League lends credence to the belief that he's "capable". Also.... AS a Starter in this League for 12 years, Osgood KNOWS what he needs, AND what he needs to DO, in order to get his Game on track. He's clearly stated that he needs to get more Games in in order to get HIS Game back to the level he's capable of playing at. If a foreman walks onto a construction site and tells one of the workers there to dig him a hole, 6'X4'X4', and then stops him when he goes after a shovel, telling him "You've got your spoon from lunch right there in your hand. Tough it out. Work through it."....... Then that foreman shouldn't be surprised at the finished product, nor at the amount of time it took the worker to complete the task, no matter HOW skilled or hard a worker did the digging. Give the guy a damned shovel, THEN judge him based upon his performance when given the PROPER tools to get the job done. If he STILL takes all day, and does a crap job to boot, THEN you decide he's not "capable" of getting the job done to your specifications.

Ummmm..... Not to put too fine a point on it, but Osgood has shown that he's capable of being "the Starter" for the past 12 years. And not only on a stacked Detroit Team, either. He did it with a young, inexperienced Isles Team. And he did it with an injury riddled Defense and an impotent Offense in St. Louis. He passed the 30 Win mark with both Teams in both of his full Season's with each Club. There's no question as to whether or not Osgood is "capable" of being the Starter.... Just a matter of getting him in there and getting his skates back under him. This appears to be the perfect opportunity, with Manny out with his latest knee injury. Babcock has chosen, instead, to go with a rookie who will most likely be shipped back down to Grand Rapids once Legace comes back, anyway.

If I'm not mistaken, the rumor on Mlive can be traced directly back to the post alluding to the same on THIS board. The LetsGoWings board is specifically mentioned as the "source". Unless there's another post there I'm missing.....???

After Holland's comments about "some" goalies who've been brought in who haven't "appreciated" the pressure of playing in, and haven't "understood" what it takes to win in, a "hockey-crazy" city like Detroit...... I'd doubt he'd re-sign CuJo. I took those comments to be directed towards Curtis Joseph, specifically.

Alright, tribute..... NOW you're just pulling names out of your REAR! You want Dafoe to back-up Legace, do you? What happens when Legace proves, (once again), that's he's incapable of playing Starters minutes? Then you've got Dafoe. A guy who's so injury prone, he makes Martin Straka look downright ROBUST by comparison. Jeez.....the Thrashers signed him to back-up Pasi Nurminen and he couldn't even stay healthy enough to do THAT effectively. Once Legace AND Dafoe go down..... THEN what have you got?

Ahhhhh yes.... Because Osgood certainly got HIS fair share of respect in Detroit, now didn't he? Sorry..... Never mind.

Take a look at all that Osgood has accomplished in his career. No matter WHERE he's played, no matter HOW talented the Team in front of him, his numbers/stats are fantastic. Now take a look at all of the various threads on this board. Count up the number of posters who scream at the top of their lungs that "Osgood SUCKS!", while extolling the phenominal virtues of such proven, amazing goaltenders as Biron, Dunham, Thibault, and others. Now tell me...... Just precisely WHO is "underrated" here? Give your head a shake, folks.