3/29 GDT: Predators 4 at Red Wings 3

[Broken 16 381]

Not good ones... I'm a bit afraid of a repeat this year... Not a cup repeat, but a Bill Ransford like meltdown repeat.

Still a funny as hell visual. Call me a Conklin homer but I have a lot of confidence in him for some reason. I think he's underrated and knows it. He has a lot to prove to a lot of people. If (when) Ozzy falters, I have a feeling Conklin will rise to the occasion. It's basically all he's done for the past two seasons. Ask the Pens.

[Vladifan 680]

Well, even though you're enjoying your freedom to not care, I'm going to tell you that I would absolutely love it if Osgood could pull together & win another one. I love the man, but I'm just not feeling it this year & I don't think he is either.

& there are several fairweather Osgood fans everywhere. Trust me. Most people would love it if he could do it. They just aren't expecting it from what they've seen.

I shouldn't have used the word "any" fans. The ones who are Oz-obsessed, I won't be reading anyways, but if it happens, I'll be thrilled right along with you and the rest of the Wings' fans who will acknowledge his talent and dedication.

[Vladifan 680]

What are you saying? Osgood is having a hard enough time keepingthe puck out of the net as it is, We shouldnt be knocking them in ourselves? Agreed to that.

Reliable....be reliable....for crying out loud take Some, Any , responsibility for what happened out there,

he always says " Gotta put this one behind me and move on" Well we are running out of games to look forward to... one day there will be NO TOMORROW or NEXT ONE.

Osgood Hasnt played well...bottom line, Wouldnt you agree? Or are you blaming the rest of the team every time we lose with Osgood in net?

Go Ozzie Go Conklin...... Go SOmebody!!!

Either you're not reading what I've written or you just want to keep this going. I've answered all these questions more than once. And I've answered them all tonight on this board. G'night.

[steveyzerman 0]

I shouldn't have used the word "any" fans. The ones who are Oz-obsessed, I won't be reading anyways, but if it happens, I'll be thrilled right along with you and the rest of the Wings' fans who will acknowledge his talent and dedication.

Ah. Yes. Them.

[Zion 93]

Vincent Riendeau... naked.

[Broken 16 381]

Vincent Riendeau... naked.

ROFL!!!! Wait... ewwwwwwwww

Norm Maracle in a bunny suit?

Edited March 30, 2009 by Broken 16

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

i officially have no confidence in osgood. this loss wasn't completely on him, but his penchant for soft goals and horrid save percentage this year has buried us far too many times. he's not turning it around. if i have to hear osgood mousishly state that he's putting this game behind him, that he doesn't look back, only forward, that he's been feeling good and confident since christmas one more ******* time i'm gonna chuck my glass at the tv! i don't know if we can win with conklin, but i have lost confidence that we'll win with osgood, he's been far too much of a liability this year.

that said, the rest of the team needs to get their s*** together, too. it pains me to say it, but lidstrom has been very sub-lidstromesque down the stretch, he needs to straighten things out. i think we've kissed the president's goodbye, which isn't a huge deal, but might come back to haunt us if we face san jose in the wcf's.

osgood's had his chance this year. it's scary riding an unproven goalie to the cup, but at this point i'm even more scared trying to ride osgood to the cup. he needs to sit. he's not our only problem, but he is performing his role worse than any other member of this team. it's enough already!!!!!!

[Outsider 42]

I don't have the words to express how disappointed I am in Chris.

I simply don't have the words...

[Grypho 195]

This a master plan bt the Wings to keep the Ducks out of the playoffs.

St Louis next who are now 3 pts clear of the Ducks in 8th place. Another

two for the Blues coming up curtisy of the Wings!!

Oh man, great minds and all that. I swear, I kept staring at the conference standings while following the game, and that was all I could think! "Holy s***, this is a master plan (I didn't think 'by the Wings') to keep the Ducks out of the playoffs."

My superstition radar tells me this was simply a case of too many Anaheim fans swallowing whatever it is they swallow to root for Detroit. Talk about a wrong, strange vibe there.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

I don't have the words to express how disappointed I am in Chris.

I simply don't have the words...

Me too. He had no right to beat Rihanna that way.

Let's hope he gets prison time out of this.

[BlueMonk 102]

OK, survey says.

After the playoffs last year, and this year's season series, are any of you Wings fans closer to considering the Predators a rival? Not like the Avs, certainly, but still, what say you?

Hope y'all whoop the Wild's ass.

I gotta be honest, I felt like the Preds were more of a rival the first year they reached the playoffs. I think it was 2003-4, right? I'm pretty sure it was that season, just going off the top of my head, when they started beating Detroit in the season series. There was the brawl-filled night in Nashville early that season, I think in October; the one where all the fights broke out and Fischer extracted his revenge on Hartnell with the big KD. Then, in the playoffs, the Preds tied the series at 2-2 (similar to last year, actually) and Vokoun gave the quote about how he hated the Red Wings, etc.

Now, if the Preds eliminate the Wings in the playoffs, which would not be a complete shock to me, then it will definitely feel like a rivalry.

[shutoutking 0]

Well, thanks for the feedback...kinda what I expected, but you gotta know y'all's team is our "measuring stick". Not too bad so far this year!

[Z and D for the C 712]

NO one, NOwhere has ever said the team has to play perfect for Ozzie. And when you resort to those kinds of absolutes you've already lost the argument. That is part of this black and white Ozzie Sucks s*** that is absolutely unbelievable. And why are you ignoring his great saves in the first two periods when the TEAM was still playing like a team? Yeah, he most definiitely let in two weak goals but then he shouldn't have to play perfect for them either when they screw up. Which they did.

Meanwhile, it sounds like you're predicting right here and now that Conklin -when he comes in - and he will come in - is gonna save the day for the Wings? And it follows from your logic that the team won't have to play "perfect" for him, i.e., just play the way they've been playing? My point remains that because of the inconsistency of BOTH goaltenders, if the team doesn't pick it up as a whole chances are, we're byebye. I wish Conklin all the luck, skill and timing in the world. I honestly wish him well. Because whoever is in net, that's what I do.

Here's where I am. I have honestly lumped all you Ozzie Sucks posters in together. So, to differentiate - if you believe Ozzie is the main problem with this team....If you believe Conklin will save the day....if you believe the team is playing well enough to get through the playoffs if there's a goalie change, well I think chances are you are being unrealistic. It is simply not that simple. I would like nothing better to be proven wrong by Conklin. In fact, I will live for that moment. (BECAUSE I WILL SUPPORT WHATEVER GOALIE IS IN NET. I'M A FAN. NOT A ******* OWNER OR COACH??!!) And I will come on this board and acknowledge his talent if he pulls it off. And how about you? If Ozzie ends up saving the day for our Wings, will you do the same? I sincerely, fervently doubt it.

Wow, you talk about black and white and then you say that? Because I am critical of Osgood's play all season which has NOT CHANGED from the start (if you don't think he has sucked this season you're delusional, look at the stats difference between Conklin and Osgood, it's not the team), I am now an "Osgood sucks" poster? Because I'm critical of his s*** play all season, I don't wish our goaltenders, whoever they are, they best possible?

I'll admit, I never liked Osgood, but believe me when I say I wish him all the best possible, I want him to play as amazing as he did last playoffs, but at this point it's entirely obvious that he won't. Everyone in the world can wish all they want, it's not going to change the fact that Osgood will not bring us a cup this year. It has nothing to do with the team's play. And hey guess what, I would love to be proven wrong as well. It's not like I hate osgood so much (I don't hate him at all, I just don't particularly like him) that I want him to fail and bring the team down with him. If I could press a button that would make Osgood play like he did last playoffs I would. I praise players when they play well and am critical when they don't, it doesn't matter who they are.

Eariler I mentioned in verbatim that I don't think Conklin will guarantee us the cup (although I do feel with a good goaltender this team this unbeatable in a 7 game series), he's certainly the better choice. Both goalies have been inconsistent. But Conklin has looked, overall, MUCH MUCH MUCH better than Osgood.

Re-read what I posted earlier.

Will conklin ensure us the cup? No. Will he give us a better chance? Yes.

We JUST saw this a year ago, yet people are blind to it. Let me draw the comparisons between 07-08 and 08-09.

In 0708, when our starter struggled, our backup was there to win games

In 0809, when our starter struggled, our backup was there to win games

In 0708, our starter did look good at some points

In 0809, our starter did look good at some points

In 0708, our backup struggled

In 0809, our backup struggled

In 0708, our starter started the playoffs, was out by round 1, and our backup won the stanley cup

In 0809, ???

I really can't spell it out better.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Z and D for the C

[sixer 37]

^ Completely agree with you. Conklin is the better choice, Ozzie deserves to sit on the bench for the remainder of the year. Only if Conks blows in games 1 and 2, does ugly Ozzie make it back between the pipes.

[clutchngrab 12]

Albert Einstein quote: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Edited March 30, 2009 by clutchngrab

[boomer 0]

i officially have no confidence in osgood. this loss wasn't completely on him, but his penchant for soft goals and horrid save percentage this year has buried us far too many times. he's not turning it around. if i have to hear osgood mousishly state that he's putting this game behind him, that he doesn't look back, only forward, that he's been feeling good and confident since christmas one more ******* time i'm gonna chuck my glass at the tv! i don't know if we can win with conklin, but i have lost confidence that we'll win with osgood, he's been far too much of a liability this year.

that said, the rest of the team needs to get their s*** together, too. it pains me to say it, but lidstrom has been very sub-lidstromesque down the stretch, he needs to straighten things out. i think we've kissed the president's goodbye, which isn't a huge deal, but might come back to haunt us if we face san jose in the wcf's.

osgood's had his chance this year. it's scary riding an unproven goalie to the cup, but at this point i'm even more scared trying to ride osgood to the cup. he needs to sit. he's not our only problem, but he is performing his role worse than any other member of this team. it's enough already!!!!!!

Ya your right but its all to late now, our options between the pipes were determined by Ken Holland policy of " goaltending on the cheap in Detroit". So you know that makes me let Osgood off the hook and Conklin for the mediocre results that we are now faced with going into the playoffs. Its not to inspiring when you here coach Babcock comment as he did last week about a loss we took to Calgary when he yanked Osgood. First he said no one player can take the blame ,that was to take the heat of Osgood. Then he went on to say " we don't need Chris to be a star out there we just need him to play regular". Didn't sit to well with me that approach. I think he needed to call him out , something to the tune of were the Cup champs and we need our goaltending to reflect that, and at this moment were not getting that out our goaltending. So don't blame Osgood, blame Holland first who a few months back coddled Osgood by saying he'll come around work out of his funk, and Babcock whose comments to me amount to the same type of clueless crap.

[greenrebellion 415]

I missed the third, seems like a good thing i did.

[Wingsallwin 0]

I don't have the words to express how disappointed I am in Chris.

I simply don't have the words...

I also feel very sorry for him. Remember how much we talked each other about Osgood's poor performance this season just one month ago. I kinda agreed on you after I absolutely attacked you but I seriously do not think Osgood will bounce back. He has been totally atrocious this season so far but nothing really has changed.

If he allows only one or two goal, I am happy with that. However, he consistently allows more than 3 or 4 goals every game except for only few, he builds no confidence on himself. Besides, when Osgood allowed 7 goals against the Pens, which gave us a nightmare, he interviewed he is out right now. I was very pleased when I heard because I thought he is really considering himself to improve. However, if I hear his interviews lately, I really just hate him somehow. What has he improved? Positioning? Puck control? Rebound control? Confidence? I cannot see anything is improved.

Conklin is not great either but he has been enough solid for pretty much all games. He did not steal absolutely but he has given us chances to win many games with a confidence. It does not matter Osgood has achieved a lot of playoff expereince because without effort and good performance, experience is absolutely useless and meaningless.

7 games are left. Give all starts to Conklin. That is the last thing we can do now.

[clutchngrab 12]

I do not understand why "Red Wings" fans find pleasure in Ozzie not pulling it together? Those people are not true fans.

The term "fan" is short for fanatic. Fanatics come in all stripes. Some are overly pessimistic and some are overly optimistic. The dictionary.com defintion is:

"a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics."

I could add sports, but note the word "uncritical". Criticism can be viewed as negative but there are multiple definitions. The one I identify with is:

"the act or art of analyzing and evaluating or judging the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit, dramatic production, etc."

Therefore you are correct. I am not a true "fan" because I refuse to disengage my brain in favour of my fantasies, emotions, etc. I am not willing to abandon centuries of western rationalism to hope that Chris Osgood pulls his head out of his ass.

Edited March 30, 2009 by clutchngrab

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I don't have the words to express how disappointed I am in Chris.

I simply don't have the words...

You and me both.

[Z and D for the C 712]

Ozzie has been struggling this season. I was hoping that he would pull it together; I've been rooting for him, and for the teams sake. But what I don't get is some "self-proclaimed" Red Wings fans seem HAPPY and JOYOUS when they can fire off posts like "Osgood Sucks", "Osbad", and etc here on LGWs.

I do not understand why "Red Wings" fans find pleasure in Ozzie not pulling it together? Those people are not true fans.

Were you not here when Hasek got pulled? My god people acted like it was god who came upon the earth and gifted the world.

[clutchngrab 12]

You and me both.

Playoffs... Osgood or Conklin?

I thought not.

Edited March 30, 2009 by clutchngrab

[Wingsallwin 0]

I do not understand why "Red Wings" fans find pleasure in Ozzie not pulling it together? Those people are not true fans.

No one here made fun of Osgood but if you think I have done so far, well then that is my big mistake. But you missed a point. Everyone here is a Red Wings fan regardless they are badnwagons or true fans. Therefore, you do not have to comment like whose are true fans and whose are not true fans.

However, I do not know how many times I have repeated this sentence but if any player is playing bad, he should be blamed and criticized hard. I think it was you whose I talked against about Osgood's poor performance. I told you Osgood will not bounce back because he is not Brodeur or Roy. His out of position and playing with no responsibility and heart has brought up this record. You remember how people considered Hasek was our starter while they think Osgood as a backup. This time is no different. People here say Osgood is a career starter. Ok.. I do not care because he was great last season but this is 08-09 season, not 07-08 season.

Personally, I would rather either Franzen or Hossa just gone and get a goalie. You guys called me a jerk because I said we need a good goalie while people think this team does not need a great goaltender because we are stacked up in a talent on both offenses and fenses. Truth is, as Ericsson is doing his job, Nick is coming to the end of his prime and play. That is why we need a goalie. No team does manange the team like us; placing goalies with around only 2-3 million. I said this is great but as the system of this team is changing, we will definately need a great goalie like Luongo.

[shadow47 1]

Babs should give one guy (not Osgood) a string of starts bad play or not to try to get in a groove, lest the Wings turn into the 1996-97 Philadelphia Flyers circa The Finals.

[Guest Shoreline]

Woohoo Wings lost! *fapfapOzziesucksfapfapfapjumpoffbandwagonwankwanksplat*

Now, realistically, the Wings are hard pressed to take #1 in the Conference now so should focus on their playoff game and possible #7 seeds who they will face.

And whoever said any goalie + this defense = fail was correct.