Recap
Coach Mike Babcock said that Chris Osgood will start again in the Red Wings'
next game, Friday, at Joe Louie Arena. according to Red Wings Corner
Game Notes
After a red-hot start this season, Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is slumping. He was pulled in Tuesday's 4-2 loss in Nashville, after allowing three goals on four shots less than nine minutes in the game.
Teammates and coach Mike Babcock agreed that Osgood couldn't be blamed for any of the goals, as the team had bad defensive breakdowns that allowed Nashville players easy access to the net. But Osgood clearly hasn't been as sharp since he signed a three-year contract extension on Jan. 9. He has lost three games in a row and is 3-4-1 with a 3.56 goals-against average and .870 save percentage during his last eight starts, during which he was pulled twice.
Still, Babcock said he will stick with Osgood for Friday's game against Columbus. The only other alternative was to start prospect Jimmy Howard, who was recalled from AHL affiliate Grand Rapids on Monday to replace Dominik Hasek, who's day-to-day with an inflamed hip flexor.
Babcock's plan was to ditch his goalie rotation and play Hasek in the majority of games over the final quarter of the season to get him ready for the playoffs. But that all depends on Hasek's health.
Osgood, meanwhile, must regain the form that made him an All-Star after a 19-2-1 start this season.
Predators 4, Red Wings 2: Once again, a slow start doomed the Red Wings. They dominated the last 2 1/2 periods territorially but couldn't erase an early 3-0 deficit. Defense was the main problem. Too often, their defensemen drifted away from the play or allowed forwards to beat them with speed. Brian Rafalski has struggled when he's not paired with Nicklas Lidstrom. And the team misses its third-best defenseman, Niklas Kronwall, who's out another two weeks with a sprained clavicle. The Wings battled back to make a game of it in the second period, getting power-play goals from Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk. But they haven't been sharp at even strength the last two games, failing to score any five-on-five goals.
Notes, Quotes
• Jimmy Howard replaced Chris Osgood in goal at 8:49 of the first period and proceeded to stop 18 of 19 shots he faced in his first NHL appearance since Dec. 13, 2005.
• The Red Wings, for some odd reason, continue to struggle against Central Division foes (7-8-2) while dominating the rest of the league (34-5-3).
Quote To Note: "We spent the whole night battling back and working hard and doing all that stuff for naught because we weren't ready to go at the start. We take a lot of pride as a coaching staff and as a team in being prepared, and tonight we didn't get the job done because we weren't very good." -- Red Wings coach Mike Babcock Team Report from Yahoo
