Hasek has sore back. Ozzie to start tomorrow night.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

I don't know where is the overreaction other than your comment. Isn't this his third time getting injured this season? How are you sure that he will be 100% during playoff battles? It is going to be 1 goal games during playoffs and he will have to be excellent and sharp every single game. If he isn't going to be 100% then there is no sense of getting dom ready for the playoff IMO.

Begining of the season, I was the one who supported Babcock to go with Hasek in playoff but If Hasek can't keep himself healthy, then Red Wings gotta consider going with plan B.

Perhaps it was a bit of a stretch to say overreaction (I guess I'm guilty then ), and the older you get the more brittle you might become physically, but it's not like this is "The Groin" that would cause him to miss an extended chunk of games. Hasek and Red Wings staff don't seem to be overly alarmed about, Hasek knows his body better than anybody else I would hope, just take him out for a game or so as a pre-caution. Unless somebody starts acting like Wile E. Coyote and drops an Acme anvil on Hasek's back, he'll be back pretty soon.

[interminded 1]

Ozzie

[puckloo39 5,686]

Oh Esa, Esa, Esa...we're getting into the whole "He's been better for the WHOLE SEASON because his stats for the whole season say so" argument again?

October:

Osgood: 6-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .931

Dom: 4-2-1, 2.68 GAA, .877

November:

Osgood: 6-1-1, 1.97, .920

Dom: 1-3-0, 3.35, .836

December:

Osgood: 5-1-0, 1.67, .941

Dom: 7-1-1, 1.64, .922

January:

Osgood: 4-1-1, 2.35, .913

Dom: 5-1-0, 1.51, .934

February:

Osgood: 2-5-1, 2.99, .873

Dom: 2-1-1, 1.99, .909

March:

Osgood: 1-0-0, 1.00, .950

Dom: 3-0-0, 2.00, .909

Hasek's gone 3 1/2 months (and the LAST 3 1/2 months to boot) giving up less than 1.75 goals per game, stopping 92%+ of his shots, and losing a whole 3 starts in regulation (and 5 overall). But certain people still seem to think that what he did in Mid-November actually matters. Whatever.

This is kind of interesting...against teams currently in the playoffs:

Hasek: 14-3-0, 1.69 GAA, .919 save percentage, 4 shutouts...29 goals on 360 shots

Osgood: 9-2-1, 1.83 GAA, .919 save percentage, 1 shutout...22 goals on 273 shots

Sparkling numbers out of both of them to be sure (I'd take either one in the post-season), but maybe when we're comparing them (and talking about how many more shots Osgood has faced), we should take it into account that more than half of Dom's starts (17 out of 33 or 52%) and almost half of his shots faced (49.6%) have come against playoff teams while Osgood has started against playoff teams just 34.2% (12 out of 35) of the time and those teams account for just 32.5% of the shots he's faced.

Yup, Dom sucked against Chicago and didn't do so hot against St. Louis this year. But guess what? Barring a huge comeback, we're not going to have to deal with either of those teams when we start playing for keeps.

Hasek's better. He always has been and he always will be. Deal with it.

Wow. Even I didn't know Dom had been that good. Thanks, Pack!

Hope Dom gets better soon. Too bad he got hurt on Sunday, but at least there are a few weeks left before he has to be 100%. And he will be.

[Reilly 24]

Ozzie

...the backup.

[interminded 1]

...the backup.

with a 3-year extension.

[puckloo39 5,686]

Hasek's "back" this weekend

"It just didn't feel well on the ice (Wednesday)," Hasek said. "I don't think it's anything serious. If I won't be ready tomorrow, I know I'll be back for the weekend."

Sorry, to those who are sad about this.

Edited March 13, 2008 by puckloo39

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Hasek's "back" this weekend

"It just didn't feel well on the ice (Wednesday)," Hasek said. "I don't think it's anything serious. If I won't be ready tomorrow, I know I'll be back for the weekend."

Sorry, to those who are sad about this.

There goes the Nashville game. Oh well, at least we'll beat Dallas.

[puckloo39 5,686]

There goes the Nashville game. Oh well, at least we'll beat Dallas.

Hope you don't get to eat crow on that statement. Have you met Brad Richards yet?

PS - Dom won his last game vs. Nashville, or rather the team did, with his help. The team may beat Dallas, as well.

sorry, forgot the ~LOL~

Edited March 13, 2008 by puckloo39

[OsGOD 3]

with a 3-year extension.

I <3 our... i mean the leagues... best backup

[Dominator2005 558]

Hasek has played fewer than 50% all season. He has been outplayed by his partner. Why again should he get more games now?

WOW... Brainless...

[puckloo39 5,686]

WOW... Brainless...

Just calls them stats like he sees them, '05! No big deal.

For anyone who is questioning the credibility of Dom's injury (not saying any of you are) -- did you notice that the three goals against the Wings in the third vs. Nashville all happened after Dom got run over by Hamhuis behind the net.

That might explain a few things, and perhaps avoid having people posting we would lose vs. the Preds with Hasek in net. That is, unless someone else takes liberties and runs over the goalie again.

[eva unit zero 271]

Just calls them stats like he sees them, '05! No big deal.

For anyone who is questioning the credibility of Dom's injury (not saying any of you are) -- did you notice that the three goals against the Wings in the third vs. Nashville all happened after Dom got run over by Hamhuis behind the net.

That might explain a few things, and perhaps avoid having people posting we would lose vs. the Preds with Hasek in net. That is, unless someone else takes liberties and runs over the goalie again.

I haven't been saying Dom is bad. Simply that to argue that his numbers are basically equal to Ozzie's, or that Hasek's performance against playoff teams is considerably better, is a flawed argument. To argue that it's a no-brainer to say he should start the majority of the remaining games because that will give the team the best chance to win is biased conjecture at best.

[dallas27 7]

It doesn't matter if Osgood gets a shutout from every game here on, it also really never mattered how he has played the whole season, it was known that Hasek was going to start the playoffs from day 1.

Just be thankful that Osgood played the way he did, and has all season, the Wings wouldn't be in the shape they are in without him.

[Packer487 3]

I haven't been saying Dom is bad. Simply that to argue that his numbers are basically equal to Ozzie's, or that Hasek's performance against playoff teams is considerably better, is a flawed argument. To argue that it's a no-brainer to say he should start the majority of the remaining games because that will give the team the best chance to win is biased conjecture at best.

No more flawed than using save percentage as your sole basis for saying Osgood has outperformed Dom this year, never mind the fact that since December started, Dom has closed the gap in Goals Against by 1.1 goals per game and the gap in Save Percentage by .047--and has played a tougher schedule doing it. (14 games against playoff teams to 6)

It's not a no-brainer to say Dom gives Detroit a better chance to win. Both goalies have been fantastic this year with the exception of one slump for each of them (mid-to-late November for Dom, early-to-mid February for Osgood), which I don't put a ton of stock in at this point in the year. Pretty clearly, they're both capable of leading this team to wins a high percentage of the time if they get any goal support.

But Dom has gone 3 1/2 months now of playing great, great hockey. He's been significantly under 2 goals a game, has lost three times in regulation in that span, and he's made it out of the first round this millennium. Why wouldn't you expect him to see more action down the stretch and play in the playoffs? Because he sucked in November? Please.

If he falters, Osgood will come in and I expect he'll be just fine. But it's been obvious from the get-go that Dom was going to get first crack at this thing if his play came around, and with the way he's played since December started, there's no reason he shouldn't get first crack.

It doesn't matter if Osgood gets a shutout from every game here on, it also really never mattered how he has played the whole season, it was known that Hasek was going to start the playoffs from day 1.

It never mattered how he played the whole season because Hasek has been great for the last 3 1/2 months. If Dom was playing well, then no, there was never a chance Osgood would play in the playoffs. If Dom wasn't playing well (or doesn't play well), then I'm sure Osgood would've gotten his shot.

But right now, there'd be absolutely no reason to go with 30 over 39.

The playoffs are going to be such a joy around here.

Just be thankful that Osgood played the way he did, and has all season, the Wings wouldn't be in the shape they are in without him.

This is true. Just like with his play down the stretch against Nashville last year, he's a big reason for the Wings being where they're at in the standings.

Edited March 13, 2008 by Packer487

[eva unit zero 271]

No more flawed than using save percentage as your sole basis for saying Osgood has outperformed Dom this year, never mind the fact that since December started, Dom has closed the gap in Goals Against by 1.1 goals per game and the gap in Save Percentage by .047--and has played a tougher schedule doing it. (14 games against playoff teams to 6)

It's not a no-brainer to say Dom gives Detroit a better chance to win. Both goalies have been fantastic this year with the exception of one slump for each of them (mid-to-late November for Dom, early-to-mid February for Osgood), which I don't put a ton of stock in at this point in the year. Pretty clearly, they're both capable of leading this team to wins a high percentage of the time if they get any goal support.

But Dom has gone 3 1/2 months now of playing great, great hockey. He's been significantly under 2 goals a game, has lost three times in regulation in that span, and he's made it out of the first round this millennium. Why wouldn't you expect him to see more action down the stretch and play in the playoffs? Because he sucked in November? Please.

If he falters, Osgood will come in and I expect he'll be just fine. But it's been obvious from the get-go that Dom was going to get first crack at this thing if his play came around, and with the way he's played since December started, there's no reason he shouldn't get first crack.

It never mattered how he played the whole season because Hasek has been great for the last 3 1/2 months. If Dom was playing well, then no, there was never a chance Osgood would play in the playoffs. If Dom wasn't playing well (or doesn't play well), then I'm sure Osgood would've gotten his shot.

But right now, there'd be absolutely no reason to go with 30 over 39.

The playoffs are going to be such a joy around here.

This is true. Just like with his play down the stretch against Nashville last year, he's a big reason for the Wings being where they're at in the standings.

I am not saying Ozzie has been better in the past month or so. I am not saying Dom shouldn't be starting the playoffs. All I was asking was why, when we have a situation where one goalie has played more and posted better numbers in doing so, are people saying that it's a no-brainer for the guy with worse numbers to be playing more of the games, and I wonder if the same thing would be said if the situations were reversed and Ozzie was the one who had started the season shakily and then come on.

If the numbers were reversed, and I suggested playing Ozzie more of the games because he had been better recently, people would be like 'But Hasek has better numbers, and come on he's HASEK. Osgood is OSGOOD.' Like those are reasons in and of themselves.

[dallas27 7]

I am not saying Ozzie has been better in the past month or so. I am not saying Dom shouldn't be starting the playoffs. All I was asking was why, when we have a situation where one goalie has played more and posted better numbers in doing so, are people saying that it's a no-brainer for the guy with worse numbers to be playing more of the games, and I wonder if the same thing would be said if the situations were reversed and Ozzie was the one who had started the season shakily and then come on.

If the numbers were reversed, and I suggested playing Ozzie more of the games because he had been better recently, people would be like 'But Hasek has better numbers, and come on he's HASEK. Osgood is OSGOOD.' Like those are reasons in and of themselves.

Because you are arguing with people that, despite claiming no bias and putting up the I don't care who starts facade, will always want Hasek to start.

Question, not specifically to you Ev: What does everyone think Hasek's stats would be had he played during the stretch of pee-wee hockey the Wings played? Despite Ozzie having to play through that his stats are still better than Hasek's.

Edited March 13, 2008 by dallas27

[Booster313 138]

Because you are arguing with people that, despite claiming no bias and putting up the I don't care who starts facade, will always want Hasek to start.

Question, not specifically to you Ev: What does everyone think Hasek's stats would be had he played during the stretch of pee-wee hockey the Wings played? Despite Ozzie having to play through that his stats are still better than Hasek's.

I don't think we would have had a stretch of peewee hockey... LOL J/K ...I bet Eva can do the calculations and tell us exactly what Dom's stats would have been.

[Packer487 3]

All I was asking was why, when we have a situation where one goalie has played more and posted better numbers in doing so, are people saying that it's a no-brainer for the guy with worse numbers to be playing more of the games, and I wonder if the same thing would be said if the situations were reversed and Ozzie was the one who had started the season shakily and then come on.

Because Hasek is going to be the starter in the playoffs and it makes sense to get him some extra work heading into the post-season maybe?

It's also probably not entirely fair to just say "The guy with the worse numbers is getting more games". It's true, but it also completely ignores the way that Dom has played for the last 3 1/2 months. There was no way he was going to dig his way out of an .864 hole to have a good year in terms of save percentage with the amount of shots the Wings give up.

If the numbers were reversed, and I suggested playing Ozzie more of the games because he had been better recently, people would be like 'But Hasek has better numbers, and come on he's HASEK. Osgood is OSGOOD.' Like those are reasons in and of themselves.

Actually I highly doubt that more than a couple people on this board would say that. And those who did would be run off by the mob.

I'm still not sure what you're getting at here. Dom's been fantastic for 3 1/2 months, he's clearly going to be starting in the playoffs (as well he should be), why is it so offensive that he get 2/3rds of the starts down the stretch instead of 1/2?

Nobody is knocking what Osgood has done this year. He's had a great season. If we need him, he'll be there. Chances are, he'll get his chance next year. But it would've taken a lot to supplant arguably the greatest goalie in the history of hockey, and when said goalie is playing at the level he's playing (going 3 1/2 months giving up like 1.7 goals a game), it'd be pretty much impossible. There's just no reason NOT to go with Dom at this point.

Because you are arguing with people that, despite claiming no bias and putting up the I don't care who starts facade, will always want Hasek to start.

Question, not specifically to you Ev: What does everyone think Hasek's stats would be had he played during the stretch of pee-wee hockey the Wings played? Despite Ozzie having to play through that his stats are still better than Hasek's.

Like the defense helped Dom a ton in the games he got shelled against Chicago and St Louis back to back. C'mon.

If Hasek was playing .864 hockey still, I'd have absolutely no problem with the idea that Osgood should start in the playoffs. But there's no reason Dom shouldn't be playing at this point. We went through this in November. I said that if Dom still wasn't playing well come April and Osgood was, then fine, start him. But if their play was even close, then Dom would and should start. Why on Earth would you NOT play him at this point?

Edited March 13, 2008 by Packer487

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

It doesn't matter to me who starts in the playoffs as long as both goalies are playing around the top of their game heading into the playoffs. I like both goaltenders.

It can really be that simple people.

I don't need 70 page essays of statistics to prove one guy deserves it over the other when both are doing very little/nothing in costing the Wings games recently. You all can do all the ridiculous statistical comparisons and create all the pie charts and bar graphs you want until we've solved world hunger, it doesn't mean s**t right now because just about everything b/w BOTH of them is even more or less and BOTH have been playing splendidly lately.

A save percentage of one guy .000000012 points higher than the other or a GAA .103533646 lower than the other is not going convince me tp put one goalie over the other in the playoffs.

[eva unit zero 271]

Because Hasek is going to be the starter in the playoffs and it makes sense to get him some extra work heading into the post-season maybe?

It's also probably not entirely fair to just say "The guy with the worse numbers is getting more games". It's true, but it also completely ignores the way that Dom has played for the last 3 1/2 months. There was no way he was going to dig his way out of an .864 hole to have a good year in terms of save percentage with the amount of shots the Wings give up.

Actually I highly doubt that more than a couple people on this board would say that. And those who did would be run off by the mob.

I'm still not sure what you're getting at here. Dom's been fantastic for 3 1/2 months, he's clearly going to be starting in the playoffs (as well he should be), why is it so offensive that he get 2/3rds of the starts down the stretch instead of 1/2?

Nobody is knocking what Osgood has done this year. He's had a great season. If we need him, he'll be there. Chances are, he'll get his chance next year. But it would've taken a lot to supplant arguably the greatest goalie in the history of hockey, and when said goalie is playing at the level he's playing (going 3 1/2 months giving up like 1.7 goals a game), it'd be pretty much impossible. There's just no reason NOT to go with Dom at this point.

Like the defense helped Dom a ton in the games he got shelled against Chicago and St Louis back to back. C'mon.

If Hasek was playing .864 hockey still, I'd have absolutely no problem with the idea that Osgood should start in the playoffs. But there's no reason Dom shouldn't be playing at this point. We went through this in November. I said that if Dom still wasn't playing well come April and Osgood was, then fine, start him. But if their play was even close, then Dom would and should start. Why on Earth would you NOT play him at this point?

I simply take issue with the fact that ALL SEASON people have slammed Osgood and praised Hasek based on name. Things such as 'there's no way Ozzie keeps up this overachieving. He'll be around .905 and 2.30 at the end of the year' as compared with stuff like 'Hasek always starts slow, it's no big deal.' and 'No matter how he's playing come April, Hasek is the only guy the Wings have who they can start in the playoffs.'

This contrasts heavily with what I have said, which are 'the goalie who is playing better should see the majority of the games in a given time span' and 'whoever is playing better in March and April should start the playoffs.'

If Osgood outperforms Hasek from here on out, he deserves the nod in the playoffs. If Hasek, then he should start. I realize there's a 95% chance of Hasek, regardless of what happens the rest of the season barring injury, but that doesn't mean I will necessarily agree with the decision. We'll have to wait and see.

[Packer487 3]

I simply take issue with the fact that ALL SEASON people have slammed Osgood and praised Hasek based on name. Things such as 'there's no way Ozzie keeps up this overachieving. He'll be around .905 and 2.30 at the end of the year' as compared with stuff like 'Hasek always starts slow, it's no big deal.' and 'No matter how he's playing come April, Hasek is the only guy the Wings have who they can start in the playoffs.'

Where? Certainly not around here. By and large it's been an Ozzie love-fest since the get-go. Much of it earned.

I did say that Osgood would level off (which proved to be correct), simply because he was playing at such a high level, there really was no way he was going to keep that up for six months. But I was pretty adamant that I didn't think Dom stood a chance to catch him in save % (which means I certainly wasn't throwing out 2.30/.905 as potential numbers). When a guy has a .907 career mark and a career high of .913 for a full season, it's almost unfair to expect him to keep playing at a .930+ level for an entire slate of games.

The "Hasek starts slow, it's no big deal" talk also has proven to be correct, no? Being that you'd be really hard-pressed to find someone with a better GAA over the last 3 1/2 months...

I have said that if their level of play was anywhere close, Hasek would and should be the guy. But I'd be the first to say that if he was playing badly, that Osgood should get the nod.

This contrasts heavily with what I have said, which are 'the goalie who is playing better should see the majority of the games in a given time span' and 'whoever is playing better in March and April should start the playoffs.'

...which is the case with Dom getting more starts down the stretch. I'm not sure what the issue is here.

If Osgood outperforms Hasek from here on out, he deserves the nod in the playoffs. If Hasek, then he should start. I realize there's a 95% chance of Hasek, regardless of what happens the rest of the season barring injury, but that doesn't mean I will necessarily agree with the decision. We'll have to wait and see.

If the playoffs started tonight...who's your guy?

Edit: Assuming both were good to go health-wise (good point tazzer)

Edited March 14, 2008 by Packer487

[tazzer82 0]

Where? Certainly not around here. By and large it's been an Ozzie love-fest since the get-go. Much of it earned.

I did say that Osgood would level off (which proved to be correct), simply because he was playing at such a high level, there really was no way he was going to keep that up for six months. But I was pretty adamant that I didn't think Dom stood a chance to catch him in save % (which means I certainly wasn't throwing out 2.30/.905 as potential numbers). When a guy has a .907 career mark and a career high of .913 for a full season, it's almost unfair to expect him to keep playing at a .930+ level for an entire slate of games.

The "Hasek starts slow, it's no big deal" talk also has proven to be correct, no? Being that you'd be really hard-pressed to find someone with a better GAA over the last 3 1/2 months...

I have said that if their level of play was anywhere close, Hasek would and should be the guy. But I'd be the first to say that if he was playing badly, that Osgood should get the nod.

...which is the case with Dom getting more starts down the stretch. I'm not sure what the issue is here.

If the playoffs started tonight...who's your guy?

Had it been Osgood that started slowly, and Dom not been injured and winning all those games, alot on here would have been calling for Howard to be brought up and Oz waived/benched whatever. It's such a double standard sometimes, and it's really unfair. They have both been playing well lately, or in Osgood's case, as well as one can when only having 2 starts since late February. He's won both games, and looked great doing so. The team has also been scoring and playing defense too, which they weren't doing at all during that losing streak. Alot of those Oz got hung out to dry with little or no goal support, and defense just standing around watching the other team. That was all it took for the Hasek love-fest and Osgood bashing to start all over again.

Should Hasek automatically get to start the playoffs, just based on his name? Not a chance. It should be whichever one of them plays better these last few games, which should have been more evenly split up IMHO. That way Babcock could see who played better, and which goalie to go with to start playoffs.

If Hasek doesn't play well the first 2 or 3 games, then he should be done with and Osgood should get his chance to start games from then on. It won't happen, but it would be a bit more fair.

As for which goalie would start, Osgood simply based on the fact that Dom is once again injured. If not for that, why not just rotate starts between the two of them like it was for the majority of the season?

[Packer487 3]

Had it been Osgood that started slowly, and Dom not been injured and winning all those games, alot on here would have been calling for Howard to be brought up and Oz waived/benched whatever. It's such a double standard sometimes, and it's really unfair.

It's unfair that the legendary starting goalie got a chance to play through his slump and the backup wouldn't necessarily be afforded the same luxury? Are you serious?

Not to mention that Osgood was pretty bad for most of 2005, very very average for a good portion of last year and then he was great from January-ish on. It's just a liiiiiittle bit different when you're comparing that to a guy who's done what Hasek has done. If Osgood got off to a bad start, there would've been doubts and rightfully so.

Also, I'm not actually convinced you would have seen the reaction that you claim. There'd be a few bashers, sure, but 95% of the regulars (at least)? No way. Hell, there were people that thought he should be starting at the beginning of the 2005 playoffs, even after the way he played for most of that season. The man can do no wrong by the masses in these parts.

If you want to talk double standards, it was amazing in February how quickly poor defensive play because an acceptable excuse for bad outings by a lot of people. No one wanted to hear that in Mid-November.

They have both been playing well lately, or in Osgood's case, as well as one can when only having 2 starts since late February. He's won both games, and looked great doing so. The team has also been scoring and playing defense too, which they weren't doing at all during that losing streak. Alot of those Oz got hung out to dry with little or no goal support, and defense just standing around watching the other team. That was all it took for the Hasek love-fest and Osgood bashing to start all over again.

When has there ever been a Hasek love-fest this year?

Should Hasek automatically get to start the playoffs, just based on his name? Not a chance.

Definitely not. But he should get to start the playoffs based on the fact that he's a better goalie and he's playing great hockey. If he wasn't playing well, I wouldn't be saying "YOU HAVE TO START HIM BECAUSE HE'S DOM!" But he is playing well--extremely well as a matter of fact--so the "he's only starting because of his name" argument is moo. Like a cow's opinion.

It should be whichever one of them plays better these last few games, which should have been more evenly split up IMHO. That way Babcock could see who played better, and which goalie to go with to start playoffs.

So why is this the start of the games that matter and not, say, two or three weeks ago? What if Dom sucks his next two starts then gets four shutouts. Do we still care about the first two bad performances? What if we get everything locked up in the next week or so? Do we care about the way the goalies play in games where we've got nothing to play for--and I assume the effort by everyone will go down?

Babcock already knows who the better goalie is. I suspect both goalies know who the better goalie is. Osgood's going to get his shot again in the next three years. Hell, he might get his shot at some point during this playoff due to injury or a couple bad outings.

If Hasek doesn't play well the first 2 or 3 games, then he should be done with and Osgood should get his chance to start games from then on. It won't happen, but it would be a bit more fair.

I suspect if Dom has a bad 2 or 3 games to start the playoffs, Osgood will get his chance.

And sports isn't about fair. Babcock is going to start the guy he feels gives us the best chance to win a Cup. It's his neck on the line to end up having success. He's not going to play someone that's inferior just because of his name, as some people like to suggest.

As for which goalie would start, Osgood simply based on the fact that Dom is once again injured.

Touche.

Though Dom doesn't seem all that worried about it. Knowing him, if it was a playoff game, he'd be good to go.

If not for that, why not just rotate starts between the two of them like it was for the majority of the season?

Because that always works in the post-season....

If Babs thought a rotation would be best for the team, I'm sure he'd do it.

Like I said before, it's a credit to Osgood that this is even potentially a debate. But you're all bat****-crazy to think that they shouldn't start Hasek in the playoffs given the way he's played. A team's starting goalie, who leads the league in goals against, and who has been an absolute wall for the last 3 1/2 months isn't getting benched. It's not going to happen. Osgood has played well enough that he's likely put himself in position to be handed the reins if Dom falters in the playoffs (he also played well enough to earn himself 3 more years here), but that's really all you can realistically expect.

I know it's disappointing that your guy is having a career year but is still likely taking a backseat in the playoffs, but you got him for 3 more years now. He rejuvenated his career, earned a new contract, you probably got to see him this year more than you expected to, he started the damn All-Star game, he's played a huge role in the success of this team, and he likely had something to do with Hasek playing as well as he has since December started. He did his job. Now it's time for Dom to do his and if he can't, Osgood will probably get a chance. There's no shame in playing behind Dominik Hasek.

Edited March 14, 2008 by Packer487