Dom Drops Ball, Ozzie Answers Call

[poptart 0]

Now? Ozzie's been #1 for awhile now. Hmm...or maybe that's just me.

make ozzie #1 save dom for trade dead line and get rid of him, tghe hockey these days are for younger players

[Offsides 21]

When is Dom going to play poorly enough, and Osgood play well enough, for people to finally notice whats right in their face?

This is exactly it. When can we call a spade a spade. It's CLEAR who's the better goalie and who should be played and if the names on the back of the jerseys were reversed no on would argue this...but Dom is getting older and not playing well. I think it is what it is, but the potential is there, so .. sure.. don't write him off yet, but don't be delusional and think our only chance of doing anything this year is with Hasek. Osgood is a Stanley Cup champion, too...and it might be that no matter what goalie in the NHL this year we have we just aren't meant to win it.

Still, Hasek being our only hope? I hope not. And I don't think so since he's only one 1 Cup of the 3. This might sound weird..but focus more on scoring no matter who's in net. If D is our weak point this year focus on our strong points. That's how teams win Cups, but utilizing their strong points to exploit other teams weak points. We still have decent D, but maybe it's not a powerhouse like in other years.

Dom started to look tired in the playoffs last year...and he's starting slower and slower...so he'd need to be rested a lot anyway...at some point...I'm not even sure I would trust him in net in the playoffs. Plus our offense plays more open and better in front of Ozzie. The D pulls back usually in front of Dom because they don't know what he'll do. I think we have a better chance of winning with Ozzie in net. Take that for what it's worth.

To me it's pretty simple. Ozzie is still red hot while Dom has been struggling. It's still only mid-November. Why not play the hot goalie?

If Dom is the consummate team player that a lot of you say he is, him sitting the bench a bit more for now shouldn't be an issue.

With 60 games left or whatever ,there is plenty of time to see who earns the #1 spot.

Mmm....I agree. All I hear is what a team player he is...but also how he can't and won't sit...so I say sit him, he should know he's not been good and be okay with that.

[Guest MrSandMan]

Dom is still our #1. I doubt ozzy will play one playoff game... unless dom is injured.

Despite our 4-3 loss and our ozzy's loss to the hawks Saturday... I think our D and our offense needs to be addressed.

In fact, our entire team seems to be slackin the past 3 games.

To expect a cold Dom to come in and win us games is absurd. No offense to ozzy, but a red hot ozzy couldn't even win us a game against the hawks.

I think the entire team needs to be addressed and regrouped.

With that said, get your hand off the panic button. We're still a kick ass team.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Why do people keep on saying its just one game? Its not. Hasek has yet to win a game where he has played 3 periods of hockey. Osgood, on the other hand, has played maybe one game where he didnt have a rock solid performance.

[Guest MrSandMan]

Why do people keep on saying its just one game? Its not. Hasek has yet to win a game where he has played 3 periods of hockey. Osgood, on the other hand, has played maybe one game where he didnt have a rock solid performance.

I can't speak for everyone else, but Dom is known to be a inconsistent goalie early in the season. And his injuries have set him back even further. But we also know Dom is the s***znit when it counts. He's the playoff Dominator.

I'd rather lose games now and condition our #1... rather than to be swept in the first round due to inconsistent goaltending.

I love ozzy, he's awesome... but he's also known to not show for the playoffs. I'd rather take my chances with Dom.

Edited November 14, 2007 by MrSandMan

[OsGOD 3]

I love ozzy, he's awesome... but he's also known to not show for the playoffs. I'd rather take my chances with Dom.

Thats only cause the coach chooses Poorly as to who should play!

Personally i saw our chances last Playoffs with Dom and sadly they weren't any better than the past goalies... maybe a bit longer, but the outcome was still the same... No Cup! I blame Sergei! Come back baby!

GIve Oz a chance to shine.

Edited November 14, 2007 by OsGOD

[eva unit zero 271]

I love ozzy, he's awesome... but he's also known to not show for the playoffs. I'd rather take my chances with Dom.

Osgood has always been one of his team's two or three best players in the playoffs...the only playoff years that doesn't apply are his rookie year, 97, 2006, and 2007. In other words: when Ozzie has gone into the postseason as the starter, he has been one of his team's best players. Without exception.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

Please, for the sanity of this forum and its members let's not have overdramatic knee-jerk overreactions.

SWF, many will read this and be at a total loss as to what they can now do on the forum! :-)

[Guest jaytan]

First game I really got to watch so far this year.... Just what I suspected. We really need to just throw our support behind Ozzie and leave Hasek on the bench until Ozzie gets hurt or needs a day off. I don't think Hasek will ever really be consistently dominant or healthy again.

[Turkey 0]

Clearly, Hasek will retire and the Wings will sign Curtis Joseph, going on to win the Cup on karma alone.

[Offsides 21]

Clearly, Hasek will retire and the Wings will sign Curtis Joseph, going on to win the Cup on karma alone.

It's frustrating to know that no matter how well Ozzie plays he'll be labeled as some kind of loser. He could be #1 in the league in everything and we'd still be looking for a starting goaltender. It's so confusing. Osgood is a PROVEN goaltender, but aside from all that, he's doing really well right now. There is absolutely no debate as to who should be our #1, but it's perpetuated by 5 letters on the back of our backups jersey H-A-S-E-K because there should be absolutely no discussion here.

Dom didn't bring it ENOUGH in the playoffs last year...not blaming him for the loss, but just saying Hasek is our savior is absolute BS. We should really, really realize that Hasek = Cup is a myth. Especially this Hasek.

[motorcitykid 42]

I may be the last one here, but I am not bailing out on Dom.

I have a couple of questions. If Hasek doesn't ever play, how exactly is he supposed to be ready for the playoffs? Most goalies in the NHL have to have some playing time to get into a groove, and Hasek may be more in that mode than most. So, sitting him for weeks, months, however long everyone thinks is good... is that the best plan?

If something happens to Ozzie ***pttootie-pttootie--warding off evil whammies, God forbid!! anything happen to him** then what? We have a completely untested-in-the-NHL Jimmy Howard and a rusty Hasek with no game time and no momentum in net for the playoffs?

Anyway, if there is something really wrong and Dom can't make a go of it this season, he will be the first one to acknowledge it. There is still money in the bank and the Wings can get someone else if need be, I suppose. I just can't see them heading into the playoffs with just one goalie.

That said, it was just one game tonight. It might be too early to show Hasek the door just yet.

Topic starter said it was Dom's first "bad" game in a long time, yet why was this thread created then?

Sorry, but this is so silly. Dom is our guy, and will be come playoff time. Unless something happens that would only be called DRASTIC and he somehow falters this season, then we can talk.

[puckloo39 5,686]

I can't speak for everyone else, but Dom is known to be a inconsistent goalie early in the season. And his injuries have set him back even further. But we also know Dom is the s***znit when it counts. He's the playoff Dominator.

I'd rather lose games now and condition our #1... rather than to be swept in the first round due to inconsistent goaltending.

I love ozzy, he's awesome... but he's also known to not show for the playoffs. I'd rather take my chances with Dom.

I agree with most of what you said. The fact is, the team didn't make it past round one of the playoffs without Dom since he left in 2002. So, those who believe the playoffs with Dom were no better than with other, past goaltenders would be incorrect.

But on the other hand, Ozzie didn't get the chance to be the man in the seasons Dom wasn't around, either. Why is that?

The brass chose Hasek as the #1 this season. He came back again because he wanted to play one more year, and because the management asked him to and was happy he agreed. I think (just me, probably) that he didn't have much choice, really. If he had retired and walked away, there would have been a contingent who would brand him a quitter, saying that he abandoned the Wings after playing a stellar season and taking the team farther into the playoffs than they actually should have gone.

There is also a line of thought that Ozzie and Jimmy tandem would have been fine this season. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I would have been OK with it myself, actually. The fact is, however, the Wings management wanted Dom back. You would have to ask them why that is... anything else is speculation -- which is, of course, our specialty here at LGW.

Will Hasek climb back on the horse? I think so. Not if he never plays, however. Will Ozzie maintain his current streak? No one can know that, either. There simply are no guarantees... that's what makes it interesting, I guess.

Topic starter said it was Dom's first "bad" game in a long time, yet why was this thread created then?

do you really have to ask??

[eva unit zero 271]

I agree with most of what you said. The fact is, the team didn't make it past round one of the playoffs without Dom since he left in 2002. So, those who believe the playoffs with Dom were no better than with other, past goaltenders would be incorrect.

Joseph's 2004 performance was better than anything Hasek has come up with in a Wings uni. While true Legace did not perform well, advancing beyond the first round in 2002 and 2007 but failing to do so between then was in most years a case of the skaters and whether or not they performed. 2006 might be the only season in recent memory where poor goaltending was a factor in an early exit.

But on the other hand, Ozzie didn't get the chance to be the man in the seasons Dom wasn't around, either. Why is that?

Ozzie was back for one season without Dom. He spent the first month of the season injured, and then outplayed Legace down the stretch but Babcock had already made his choice in January that Legace would play in the playoffs.

The brass chose Hasek as the #1 this season. He came back again because he wanted to play one more year, and because the management asked him to and was happy he agreed. I think (just me, probably) that he didn't have much choice, really. If he had retired and walked away, there would have been a contingent who would brand him a quitter, saying that he abandoned the Wings after playing a stellar season and taking the team farther into the playoffs than they actually should have gone.

If anyone would have said that had Hasek left, they'd have been morons. Hasek played very well last year, but he didn't take the Wings further than they should have gone. And had he retired...he'd be retiring a 6-time Vezina winnner, Stanley Cup winner, and top 15 all-time in wins and among the leaders in shutouts. Anyone who would have called him a quitter would have needed a reality check.

There is also a line of thought that Ozzie and Jimmy tandem would have been fine this season. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I would have been OK with it myself, actually. The fact is, however, the Wings management wanted Dom back. You would have to ask them why that is... anything else is speculation -- which is, of course, our specialty here at LGW.

Hasek was asked to come back because of how well he played last season...the Wings brass wanted Howard to spend one more year in the AHL. This means they needed another goaltender to play with Osgood. Hasek's base salary is about 2m, if he hits bonuses it's about 4m...they weren't going to get anyone near as effective as Hasek was expected to be for anything less than 5m base salary, and to acquire that kind of goaltender they would have had to give up assets to acquire a guy, likely in his late 20s, who would either be around long-term (meaning Howard gets dumped off) or would leave as soon as possible, meaning likely the Wings wouldn't get full value from the deal. Give up less or the same amount of money and no assets to keep a guy close to retirement that you expect to play very well? Easy choice. The other option was to pick up a veteran backup for Ozzie...and there wasn't a veteran backup who was available who would realistically be a better use of cap space, playing time, and assets than just playing Howard in the role.

Will Hasek climb back on the horse? I think so. Not if he never plays, however. Will Ozzie maintain his current streak? No one can know that, either. There simply are no guarantees... that's what makes it interesting, I guess.

Hasek may or may not climb back on. Ozzie may or may not continue his streak. But ultimately, we all have to realize that what will happen is that Babcock will do what he feels best for the team. If Babcock feels Hasek is on the verge of finding that rhythm, he'll probably see a few games in a row. If Babcock feels that Hasek ISN'T looking like he'll be finding his rhythm, and Ozzie keeps up his strong performance, we will see a lot more Osgood. I think they should probably get a 50-50 split at this point, moving to a ratio more in favor of the guy who is looking better if there is a clear difference.

[puckloo39 5,686]

'eva unit zero' post='1188423' date='November 14, 2007 - 12:59PM'

QUOTE:

Eva: 2006 might be the only season in recent memory where poor goaltending was a factor in an early exit

loo: define recent.

Eva: If anyone would have said that had Hasek left, they'd have been morons. Hasek played very well last year, but he didn't take the Wings further than they should have gone. And had he retired...he'd be retiring a 6-time Vezina winnner, Stanley Cup winner, and top 15 all-time in wins and among the leaders in shutouts. Anyone who would have called him a quitter would have needed a reality check.

loo: true. However, that "quitter" business was actually in an article or two, when Hasek's agent was in the process of negotiating the contract over the summer.

Eva: Hasek was asked to come back because of how well he played last season...the Wings brass wanted Howard to spend one more year in the AHL. This means they needed another goaltender to play with Osgood. Hasek's base salary is about 2m, if he hits bonuses it's about 4m...they weren't going to get anyone near as effective as Hasek was expected to be for anything less than 5m base salary, and to acquire that kind of goaltender they would have had to give up assets to acquire a guy, likely in his late 20s, who would either be around long-term (meaning Howard gets dumped off) or would leave as soon as possible, meaning likely the Wings wouldn't get full value from the deal. Give up less or the same amount of money and no assets to keep a guy close to retirement that you expect to play very well? Easy choice. The other option was to pick up a veteran backup for Ozzie...and there wasn't a veteran backup who was available who would realistically be a better use of cap space, playing time, and assets than just playing Howard in the role.

loo: Also true. As I recall, there wasn't really a better choice than Hasek, given the circumstances.

Eva: Hasek may or may not climb back on. Ozzie may or may not continue his streak. But ultimately, we all have to realize that what will happen is that Babcock will do what he feels best for the team. If Babcock feels Hasek is on the verge of finding that rhythm, he'll probably see a few games in a row. If Babcock feels that Hasek ISN'T looking like he'll be finding his rhythm, and Ozzie keeps up his strong performance, we will see a lot more Osgood. I think they should probably get a 50-50 split at this point, moving to a ratio more in favor of the guy who is looking better if there is a clear difference.

loo: I would have absolutely no problem with any of that, Eva. Thanks!

edit: I totally messed up the quotes, sorry.

Edited November 14, 2007 by puckloo39

[Offsides 21]

Topic starter said it was Dom's first "bad" game in a long time, yet why was this thread created then?

Topic starter was wrong though.

I agree with most of what you said. The fact is, the team didn't make it past round one of the playoffs without Dom since he left in 2002. So, those who believe the playoffs with Dom were no better than with other, past goaltenders would be incorrect.

Oh COME ON. Cujo played better in the playoffs here than Dom ever did here. Not everything about winning a Cup hinges on goaltending. Once in a while the team needs to score. We scored heartily this playoffs and that was a big factor in getting to round 3. If you remember with Legace in the year before the only forward to do anything was Z, really, or maybe you didn't watch that year. I'm not saying Legace was great, but there was more too that than just goaltending issues. Ozzie should have been in but ended up being injured. Lang was more instrumental in getting us to round 3 than Dom was.

[Packer487 3]

But here are the facts:

Dom is used to seeing 15-20 shots a game and GAA nearing 3

Dom as a starter is 5-3-1 in 9 starts, playing on a dominant team in the NHL

Dom has a save percentage of 86.9% (the worst among goaltenders)

Dom has seen an average of 20 shots a game, 37 goaltenders have seen more shots

Ozzie's GAA is 1.58 (third in the NHL)

Ozzie has a record 8-1-0 to start the season and plays solid as hell

Ozzie's save percentage is 93.1 (seventh best in the league

Ozzie has seen an average of 24 shots a game

How do you look the facts in the face, and say to stick with Dom and that Osgood is the "backup"? How has the defense played worse in front of Dom, considering shots on goal?

Track record. He was money last year, nearly took us to the Stanley Cup, and now people want to bench him because he's lost THREE GAMES IN REGULATION (one of which was against the same Blackhawks team that beat the amazing Oz the other night), and he had one exceptionally bad game--where he couldn't be blamed for at least 2 of the 4 goals and faced something like 8 odd-man rushes in under 2 periods.

I'm not making any statement about the defense playing better in front of Osgood than Hasek, because I don't necessarily think that that's true, but you can't just look at shots on goal.

I ask again, for all the stick with Dom believers: How many losses merit reconsidering the distribution of starts?

More than 4. That's for damn sure. Especially since last night was the first time that Dom has lost to a team that's not currently in the playoffs. He hasn't been his Dominating self, but how many truly BAD games has he had this year? 2? Last night and the 6-3 loss to Anaheim? Even with how he's struggled, 3 of his last 4 he's given up 2 or less.

How many bad performances in sharp contrast to excellent play makes one reconcider the "starter"?

When it starts really hurting the team to have Hasek in there. You can't tell me with any certainty that Osgood would've done any better last night, because quite frankly the defense sucked. And Oz kind of got hung out to dry a little bit the other night against Chicago. They had a long 5 on 3, several breakaways/2 on 1s, Chelios was standing around on the third goal, and the 4th was an excellent shot, though you'd probably like him to stop it.

How long do you plan to give Dom to shake off a slow start?

Before he got hurt, he had back to back wins giving up 2 goals in each one. He came back and played a good game against a Columbus team that is better than in year's past. Last night was a setback, but it's not like he had any help out there.

When is the goalies play and preparation the goalies responsibilty?

Always. And Dom would probably be the first to tell you that.

Are we really going to stick with a goaltender as a starter in fear that he'll throw a tantrum and retire?

No, we're going to stick with a goalie as the starter because he's the best goalie in the history of the league and damn near took us to the Cup last year. And because he won as many playoff series last year as Osgood has since the end of the 97-98 season. That's coming up on a decade, folks.

How many times have people ridden Osgood for not even terrible play, but shaky games?

Plenty.

Are these people now defending Dom for what can only be called horendous goaltending?

"horrendous goaltending" is a little strong. But yes, I'll defend him because he's more than earned the right to try to play through this. It's not like he was average last year and this year he's spiraling into bad. He had a very good playoffs for us! And now he's been a little on the shaky side, but still is on pace for a 100 point season, and people want to bench him? Please.

And finally, the question I've asked numerous times:

When is Dom going to play poorly enough, and Osgood play well enough, for people to finally notice whats right in their face?

Again, when it starts hurting the team to have him in there. And it really hasn't thusfar. We're winning our division. We're making the playoffs. It's not like it's going to hurt us to let him play through this in freaking NOVEMBER.

I'd also like to point out that if goalies weren't allowed to improve throughout the season, Osgood would be playing in the ECHL because he sucked in 05-06 and the start of 2006-07 (and even as well as he played down the stretch last year, we were still almost as likely to lose as win when he suited up...)

You also have to remember that yes, we're 20 or so games into the year, but Hasek has only played 9 times and was out for a couple of weeks. It's just too damn early to say "Dom's done, retire *****" and proclaim Osgood as the OMG Greatest!!!!1! because he's been good out of the gate.

[Packer487 3]

Joseph's 2004 performance was better than anything Hasek has come up with in a Wings uni.

You do realize that Dom had back-to-back shutouts, against our arch-nemesis in elimination games right? And that he set a then-NHL record for playoff shutouts?

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you that Joseph played a lot better than anyone gave him credit for, but you continually try to minimize what Hasek has done here--particularly in 2002--and you're flat out wrong. We were down 3-2, going on the road into a hostile environment, he didn't get a lot of goal support, but he put up the brick wall. And to follow it up, posted another shutout the next game.

Hasek played very well last year, but he didn't take the Wings further than they should have gone.

Maybe. San Jose was the team that I really didn't want to see in the playoffs and there were a lot of people who didn't think we'd win that series. But the Wings surprised me, and Hasek was part of the reason for that.

If Babcock feels Hasek is on the verge of finding that rhythm, he'll probably see a few games in a row. If Babcock feels that Hasek ISN'T looking like he'll be finding his rhythm, and Ozzie keeps up his strong performance, we will see a lot more Osgood. I think they should probably get a 50-50 split at this point, moving to a ratio more in favor of the guy who is looking better if there is a clear difference.

Bingo. Personally, I'd lean more toward 60-40 Hasek, but the point is good. I've got no problem with seeing more Oz than normally while he's riding this hot streak. I don't expect it to last forever, but it's nice that he's playing well. But Hasek has the track record, he's played better in the recent past, and he deserves EVERY opportunity to play out of this little slump.

Dom didn't bring it ENOUGH in the playoffs last year...not blaming him for the loss, but just saying Hasek is our savior is absolute BS. We should really, really realize that Hasek = Cup is a myth. Especially this Hasek.

So you want to go with the guy who hasn't won a playoff series in this millennium and who completely bombed out the last time he played for this team in the playoffs. Got it.

Hasek's GAA was below 2 and his save percentage was well over 92% in the playoffs last year. The elimination game was bad, but apart from that, I don't really know what you were expecting him to do. I mean, he only went 9 straight games without giving up more than 2 goals, and gave up 3 goals total once we were down 2 games to 1 against the Sharks. And he gave up 2 goals total once Calgary tied that series at 2.

Again (and this isn't directed at Offsides or Eva specifically), he's lost 3 games in regulation, people. 2 of those were against playoff teams. I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you that he's not at the top of his game, but he's started nine games. Nine. And he's only had 2 games where he gave up a "bad" total of goals--and even in those (last night and against Anaheim) he didn't get a lot of help. He's going to be FINE.

[b.shanafan14 733]

No, we're going to stick with a goalie as the starter because he's the best goalie in the history of the league and damn near took us to the Cup last year. And because he won as many playoff series last year as Osgood has since the end of the 97-98 season. That's coming up on a decade, folks.

Plenty.

Again, when it starts hurting the team to have him in there. And it really hasn't thusfar. We're winning our division. We're making the playoffs. It's not like it's going to hurt us to let him play through this in freaking NOVEMBER.

Thats the point, some people refuse to believe there is a problem with Dom because once upon a time he was a 6 time Vezina winner. The playoff run last year was not solely on Dom and through the last stretch, the elimination game especially, Dom played shaky as hell.

My point is to live in the here and the now, and if we continue losing more Division match-ups than winning, we are in for a big surprise come the spring.....

Please someone present an argument not involving Hasek's past success, I've heard about the Vezinas a million times already, and the slow starts argument. I suppose we'll just keep losing with Dom in goal and enjoy his one cup on a stacked team and the Vezinas and Harts he won elsewhere....

[Packer487 3]

Thats the point, some people refuse to believe there is a problem with Dom because once upon a time he was a 6 time Vezina winner. The playoff run last year was not solely on Dom and through the last stretch, the elimination game especially, Dom played shaky as hell.

My point is to live in the here and the now, and if we continue losing more Division match-ups than winning, we are in for a big surprise come the spring.....

So if we're not allowed to bring past accomplishments (even those which occurred LAST YEAR) in to the mix, I guess it's reasonable to say that Cleary, Hudler and Draper are better goal scorers at this point in their career than Pavel Datsyuk and that Flip and Maltby are his equals. Or that Datsyuk has lost his scoring touch since he only has 3 goals in 18 games. Or that Kronwall sucks (Oh wait.....). Or that Tim Thomas is the best goalie in the history of hockey.

There IS no argument not involving Hasek's past success. Part of the reason he's earned the right to play through this is because he's arguably the best goalie in the history of hockey and was solid last year and had a pretty darn good playoffs. He's led this team to their two deepest playoff runs in the last 8 or 9 years.

If all you've got is the data from this year, then yes, start Osgood. But that's short-sighted and completely ignorant. Especially since the guy you want to start was useless for most of the year 2 seasons ago, and wasn't all that good in the first half of last year. But goalies can't improve...

I suppose we'll just keep losing with Dom in goal and enjoy his one cup on a stacked team and the Vezinas and Harts he won elsewhere...

Projecting Dom's totals over an 82 game season, we're still on pace for a 100 point season. And that's assuming he won't improve one iota. But yeah, we'll "keep losing" with him in net.

Edited November 14, 2007 by Packer487

[puckloo39 5,686]

You do realize that Dom had back-to-back shutouts, against our arch-nemesis in elimination games right? And that he set a then-NHL record for playoff shutouts?

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you that Joseph played a lot better than anyone gave him credit for, but you continually try to minimize what Hasek has done here--particularly in 2002--and you're flat out wrong. We were down 3-2, going on the road into a hostile environment, he didn't get a lot of goal support, but he put up the brick wall. And to follow it up, posted another shutout the next game.

1st round and out with Cujo. Cup win and into the semifinals with Dom.

Cujo maybe didn't bring enough to the table, if we use the same logic as with Hasek last season. We can't have this both ways, kids. The team was involved in both playoffs, for better or worse... not just the goalie in either case.

Either the past is revelant, or it's not.

[OsGOD 3]

Last night and hell for this season so far... i just have to defer to my ava

Edited November 14, 2007 by OsGOD

[Rob the Badger 0]

Ozzie has been the better goalie this year and has earned a Stanley Cup ring as a starter. He's got the hot hand. I say, let him keep the starting job until Hasek is able to take it from him, or Ozzie slips up and gives it away. Just look at Ozzie's numbers, he deserves the job right now.

[Osgood=WIN! 0]

Osgood is definitly the guy we need to keep in goal at this point in time.His stats so far speak for themselves.I'm tired of hearing the excuses from the Hasek fans.The guy is a phenominal goaltender when he's on his game, but right now he just is'nt, and it's plain as day.Ozzie deserves his shot at the undisputed starter position.Let him run with it!!

On another note, why the hell is Hasek on the all star game voting ballot??He has done NOTHING so far this year to suggest he's worthy.If anything, Osgood should be on it.I say we all cast a ton of write in ballots in his favour and try to get him in there!!!He's one of the best in the West right now.

[OsGOD 3]

He is in on it by name alone... the ballots are a popularity contest... have no baring on actual current play. Or you can all Perception... He is perceived as being all=star this season. People read Hasek and will say yeah he is good and vote for him... but this season that is far from the truth.... there are about 20 other goalies out playing him and deserve a look before him.

Edited November 14, 2007 by OsGOD