Why Osgood can't start in the playoffs

[Packer487 3]

And that's the mentality that killed us with Legace when we lost to to the Oilers; he was named playoff starter way too soon and then when his play didn't hold up into the end of the season. I don't think we should even be considering a playoff starter until the last week of the regular season.

I don't think that's really fair. If you look at Manny's numbers that year, they were really strong throughout. He had one rough stretch where he gave up 3,5,3,5,3,4,3 goals, but he bounced back from that and was 8-0-1 with a 1.85 and a .932 in the month leading up to the playoffs.

And contrary to popular belief around here, Osgood didn't really present a challenge to him down the stretch. In that same span, he was 3-1-2 with a 2.91 and a .904 save percentage.

I don't think that Legace getting complacent had anything to do with the loss to the Oilers. I suppose it's possible that he would've benefited from a challenge, but I don't think it had much to do with us losing. And it was hard to fault Babcock for naming him the starter. Osgood really sucked in 05-06. Like, pretty much the entire season. He had a couple of decent stretches but there was nothing in there that suggested they should even think of starting him in the playoffs.

As for this year, barring a downturn in his play (he's been GREAT for the last two months), it's going to be Dom in the playoffs. The sooner people accept it, the better.

[Guest Canadian Wings]

Dom will take us to the promise land, not Osgood.

/thread.

[Guest Canadian Wings]

When so much of the team’s strategy is based on suffocating defence and limiting opposing scoring chances, why wouldn’t you go with the goalie who — though his stats may be poorer — has shown a consistent ability to make jaw-dropping, game-saving stops when it really matters?

I’m pretty sure Mike Babcock understands this. Why don’t some Wings fans get it?

That was well said at the end of the article!

[Aeothe Kaear 0]

And that's the mentality that killed us with Legace when we lost to to the Oilers; he was named playoff starter way too soon and then when his play didn't hold up into the end of the season. I don't think we should even be considering a playoff starter until the last week of the regular season.

Did you just compare Manny Legace to Dominik Hasek? With regards to their mental preparation and the pressure of playoff goaltending?

This thread is hilarious. This isn't even a question. Dom didn't come back for one last season in his ripe old age to be a healthy scratch in the playoffs.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Dom will take us to the promise land, not Osgood.

/thread.

And you know this how? Magic crystal ball?

Nothing against Hasek or Osgood, I like BOTH OF THEM and BOTH OF THEM have been playing around the top of their games lately. If this keeps up I could care less who starts in the playoffs due to the high quality of play of both goaltenders as Hasek has proved he is still a very capable #1 despite being "over the hill" and Osgood has without much question played his best season to date so far.

Either one of them could start in the playoffs.

EDIT: Even though 'tandems' are perceived to be frowned upon in the postseason, I would thoroughly enjoy if both Hasek and Osgood continue to perform well up into the playoffs, and the tandem continues in the playoffs, where both play roughly an equal amount of games/contribution to help the Wings win the

Edited January 31, 2008 by SouthernWingsFan

[The Noodle 39 14]

Hasek started the season slow like he always does and is fine now and is and has been playing great and ready to help this team win a cup.

Osgood has been good this season as well. He played a bit badly after the contract signing and got smoked in the skills competetion and all star game but he had a nice game vs the Coyotes so hopefully he will be solid the rest of the year. But IMO no offense Osgood fans and i love him too but when it comes playoff time i don't really wanna see Streaky Ozzie in net and have to worry every game are we gonna get the good ozzie or the bad ozzie. Some of the comments he made at the all star game worried me and brought me back to what he was like in the old days. Osgood i think is mentally not a superstar goalie. He has confidence issues since he was drafted here and has always been a descent goalie his whole career. He shines at times in Detroit and that is why he is back here. He didn't do anything special with the Blues and Islanders. He was awful in the playoffs for them. He shines here in Detroit because he is comfortable here but this is Dom's last year folks and let him ride it out and we can have wonderful Ozzie in net for 3 more years!!

[edicius 3,269]

Osgood has been good this season as well. He played a bit badly after the contract signing and got smoked in the skills competetion and all star game but he had a nice game vs the Coyotes so hopefully he will be solid the rest of the year.

That's an understatement. Last night was the very definition of "stealing a game".

[Inultus 12]

I think it's nice to be able to have this argument. It means that we have 2 goalies who kick ass. They've both won a Cup, and with the Wings to boot.

My only concern is that Hasek is getting up there in years and I don't know that his reflexes are what they once were.

[Dabura 12,232]

Vernon ftw.

[tazzer82 0]

Osgood has been good this season as well. He played a bit badly after the contract signing and got smoked in the skills competetion and all star game but he had a nice game vs the Coyotes

Skills competition and All Star game mean jack squat. It was him being there and having fun, and how he played or didn't play during that time has nothing to do with whether or not you think he should start in the playoffs.

He had a "nice game" against the Coyotes? That was stealing a game, pure and simple. He may not do it often, but he certainly did last night. Ask Doan how he feels about being stoned on that breakaway with 30 seconds left.

If Oz is playing better come playoff time, then he should start. If Dom is playing better, then he should start. Or Babs could just rotate them like he is now, couldn't hurt anything.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Ozzie should be the starter. Dom has been great lately, but Ozzie has been great in all but 2 games this year.

[CrossCheck24 2]

As long as no one takes Slappers fron center on ozzie, either keeper will do

[eva unit zero 271]

As long as no one takes Slappers fron center on ozzie, either keeper will do

I will gladly accept Osgood playing exactly as he did in 1998.

[OsGOD 3]

Dom will take us to the promise land, not Osgood.

/thread.

I heard that same thing last season... its like deja vu. I loved our cup parade down woodward last summer... its was the mother effing BOMB!!!!

[Sergeiwasmyfav 0]

I will gladly accept Osgood playing exactly as he did in 1998.

Me too. Those overtime goals from center ice really added some excitement to the playoffs that year . Seriously though, Ozzie is a good goalie, he played fine in '98 and he actually really is one of my favs on the team. I can just recognize that even my favorite players are not perfect and there is no harm in having some fun with it. Fedorov was always my favorite before he left (I still like him) but I recognized that he could be lazy at times and didn't always put 100% into his play and I joked about it.

[b.shanafan14 733]

I heard that same thing last season... its like deja vu. I loved our cup parade down woodward last summer... its was the mother effing BOMB!!!!

hahaha MY POINT EXACTLY!

I'm not saying that Dom did terrible in the playoffs last season, but he wasn't as "stellar" as some posters believed him to be and in the elimination game he was plain terrible.

My only hope is to play the consistent, HOT goaltender. I hate hearing how no matter how well Ozzy plays or how bad Hasek plays, Hasek should get the nod. Sometimes I do feel like its 10 years ago, since most people only mention the Vezina winning Hasek and the Osgood that let in center ice shots...

I am yet to see Hasek really steal a game, not in last years playoffs and not so far this season. Osgood has taken a few for us, at least one vs. Pheonix last night.

Go with the Hot goaltender for playoffs, the one you can objectively say has played better based on this season, not a decade ago. And with his extremely consistent play and solid style, at this moment I go with Osgood, but I agree that its going to be February and we still have another 2+ months to find out whos starting.

That said, I know Hasek is extremely competitive and hates to let in goals, but I also feel Osgood is stronger mentally and can get over a goal and not let it effect his play. And I have to admit, it would be nice not to scream at my TV for Dom to get off his back

[Naslund19 0]

I can't believe I took a break from the boards for quite some time and we STILL got the classic "goalie battle" going on.

There's still the second half of the season to be played, so why argue who should be the starter come playoff time? I like both of our goaltenders. I'm sure when it comes closer to playoffs, Babcock will go with whoever is playing better at the time.

[stormboy 47]

I can't believe I took a break from the boards for quite some time and we STILL got the classic "goalie battle" going on.

There's still the second half of the season to be played, so why argue who should be the starter come playoff time? I like both of our goaltenders. I'm sure when it comes closer to playoffs, Babcock will go with whoever is playing better at the time.

because it's a discussion board, and as long as people keep posting on a topic, it means they want to talk about it. and if people post just to *****, they're only encouraging discussion on a topic they're annoyed with. no one made you click on this thread.

anyway, i wanted to point out this quote: "I can guaran-damn-tee you that no more than a small handful of NHLers have ever stared down into the Wings net on game night and thought to themselves ‘Damn. That’s Chris-*******-Osgood in net. How’re we gonna score tonight?’ "

i see the point he's making, but i'm just not sure how true it is. i don't know if people are really intimidated by him anymore. dom may be capable of making good saves now, but all you have to do is top shelf a rebound and you will score almost every time. people watch tape, and not just old tape -- film from this and last year where hasek does the alligator death roll after making the first save and lays there in the net. i'm not saying he's terrible, and i do think that he has a lot more league-wide name recognition than osgood. i'm just not sure if that name inspires fear the same way that it used to.

[Packer487 3]

hahaha MY POINT EXACTLY!

I'm not saying that Dom did terrible in the playoffs last season, but he wasn't as "stellar" as some posters believed him to be and in the elimination game he was plain terrible.

He was really great against Calgary and SJ. Less so against Anaheim, but he still played well enough to win that series. The elimination game wasn't his shining moment by any means, but the team as a whole sleepwalked through that one for some reason.

My only hope is to play the consistent, HOT goaltender. I hate hearing how no matter how well Ozzy plays or how bad Hasek plays, Hasek should get the nod. Sometimes I do feel like its 10 years ago, since most people only mention the Vezina winning Hasek and the Osgood that let in center ice shots...

No one has said that--and there's like one person that has mentioned the center-ice bombs. Most of the "start Hasek" people, myself included, have said that if Osgood is clearly playing better, start him. But if it's close, you have to go with Hasek for a variety of reasons, not the biggest of which is that he's had some playoff success recently.

I am yet to see Hasek really steal a game, not in last years playoffs and not so far this season. Osgood has taken a few for us, at least one vs. Pheonix last night.

Ozzie was outstanding last night, and I can totally see saying that he stole the game, but people around here need a big lesson in being consistent.

Go with the Hot goaltender for playoffs, the one you can objectively say has played better based on this season, not a decade ago. And with his extremely consistent play and solid style, at this moment I go with Osgood, but I agree that its going to be February and we still have another 2+ months to find out whos starting.

Osgood's been better for the season as a whole. Dom has been better for the last half of the season that's been played. If we're going into the playoffs right now, I'm starting the guy that's been giving up a goal and a half a game since December started. But if he struggles, I'd have no problem playing Osgood. But like you said, there's still a lot of time left. I've said all along that this will probably get settled either through injury or one of the goalies cooling off.

dom may be capable of making good saves now, but all you have to do is top shelf a rebound and you will score almost every time. people watch tape, and not just old tape -- film from this and last year where hasek does the alligator death roll after making the first save and lays there in the net.

Well if that's all it takes, it's amazing that Dom has risen to be in the top 5 or 6 in the league in goals against. How does he stop any pucks at all.....

Edited January 31, 2008 by Packer487

[puckloo39 5,686]

Well if that's all it takes, it's amazing that Dom has risen to be in the top 5 or 6 in the league in goals against. How does he stop any pucks at all.....

Some people think he's been "lucky" for the past 15 years. :rotflmao: <<< Dom, rolling around in the crease, or me, laughing? Take your pick!!

** This is me being sarcastic, Pack, and agreeing with you on all your points above**

Hasek didn't lose the Cup for the Wings last playoffs, far from it. Fact: the Wings got to the third round for the first time since 2002 with Dom in net.

Coincidence? Nope.

Edited January 31, 2008 by puckloo39

[tazzer82 0]

Some people think he's been "lucky" for the past 15 years. :rotflmao:

Hasek didn't lose the Cup for the Wings last playoffs, far from it. Fact: the Wings got to the third round for the first time since 2002 with Dom in net.

Coincidence? Nope.

Having Dom in net wasn't the only reason they got to the 3rd round either. They played physical, learned how to take shots from somewhere other than the perimeter, and got scoring from guys that needed to step up their play.

[OsGOD 3]

Scoring is the #1 issue we have in the Playoffs and the #1 item that determines how far we go... We forget how to light the lamp past April 8th. without scoring no wins no matter WHO is in net.

Edited January 31, 2008 by OsGOD

[puckloo39 5,686]

Scoring is the #1 issue we have in the Playoffs and the #1 item that determines how far we go... We forget how to light the lamp past April 8th. without scoring no wins no matter WHO is in net.

you are exactly correct, sir. Either goalie is capable of winning, if the team is on target as well.

It's probably just me, but the turning points in the Ducks series had more to do with bad breaks and officiating than anything the Wings did wrong. Neidermeyer's "goal" that should had been blown dead, Pronger costing us a 100%-healthy Homer, and a couple of other incidents cost the Wings just enough traction that they couldn't get past the Ducks. I think Detroit would have smoked Ottawa, BTW.

I am glad the Wings don't play dirty hockey, but I am glad to see them a bit more physical this season.

[puckloo39 5,686]

Having Dom in net wasn't the only reason they got to the 3rd round either. They played physical, learned how to take shots from somewhere other than the perimeter, and got scoring from guys that needed to step up their play.

I am a big believer in intangibles. Hasek is the x-factor in a lot of situations, even still. Dom is a legend and he gets into players' heads -- and not just the opposition's, either.

Age might have take a bit of the edge off the enigma that is Hasek, but he's still got "it." I think the Wings are just as confident in front of Ozzie this season as they are Dom. That's the beauty of the situation we're in.

[Packer487 3]

you are exactly correct, sir. Either goalie is capable of winning, if the team is on target as well.

It's probably just me, but the turning points in the Ducks series had more to do with bad breaks and officiating than anything the Wings did wrong. Neidermeyer's "goal" that should had been blown dead, Pronger costing us a 100%-healthy Homer, and a couple of other incidents cost the Wings just enough traction that they couldn't get past the Ducks. I think Detroit would have smoked Ottawa, BTW.

I am glad the Wings don't play dirty hockey, but I am glad to see them a bit more physical this season.

In all our Cup runs, we got the right mix of great play, good-to-great goaltending, contributions from unlikely sources, and luck. Sometimes it's just obvious when it's your year and when it's not. The Ducks, who are a damn fine hockey team even if they are a bunch of punk-ass chumps, got all of that, including the bounces, the calls, and the breaks last year. If one or two go the other way (even if JUST the goal where Dom gets pushed into the net had gotten waived off), we probably win the Cup (since I agree...we would've smoked the Sens).

The puck wasn't bouncing our way, we had some key injuries, and on a few occasions, the guys we needed to step up didn't step up. But IMO it was just Anaheim's year. Hopefully this one is ours.

And if Osgood gives us the better opportunity to win the Cup, so be it. But if Dom keeps playing the way he has been playing, you'd have a hard time convincing me that is the case.