34 replies to this topic

[Howard He Do It?!]

One bad game? Did you miss the terrible goal he allowed in Colorado from a terribly weak angle which allowed the Avs RITE back in the game? Did you see Howard against Vancouver; that was one of the worst performances I have seen from a goalie at the NHL level...the Wings will not get far with Howard that is a fact because of hit terrible rebound control... Ozzy needs to play hands down

Against Vancouver, 3 of the 4 goals scored were a screened PP goal, an excellent breakaway goal and a mid-air deflection circus shot. You can criticize, but be realistic in that criticism. Not every goal is the goalie's fault.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Sure Howard has an issue with rebounds right now but at least hes making that first save. If Ozzie were in net the shot that Howie kicked a juicy rebound on just would have gone in the net. What would you prefer? Howard is the only reason the Wings have a shot at the playoffs. If Ozzie had played as many games this year as Howard the Wings would not be in the playoff race at all. Your post is all about nostalgia and not about who gives the best chance of the Wings to make the playoffs.

This is entirely subjective and you do not know if this would have happened or not. You are only using this to try to justify your preference of the other goalie.

[Heroes of Hockeytown]

If we just break down the four games since the Olympic break, I don't think he's been awful or anything close. The Stewart goal in Colorado was bad, but it was just one softy; when you give up only two goals you give your team a good chance to win and they did. Vancouver was a disaster but that was one of those games where nothing hit the goalie -- pucks were flying in through screens and everything, it happens. Nothing to complain about from Nashville. Yesterday's game he was shaky and got scored on a lot, but the Hawks are no pushovers; the Wings really sat back and let the Hawks take it to them at the end, and the Wings wouldn't be the only team hanging on for dear life in that situation.

He kicks out rebounds from everywhere and he's a bit inconsistent, but he's only a rookie after all. He's given the Wings a chance to win basically every night, and although I love Oz, I don't think if he were the guy starting every game the Wings would be in any better position than they are now.

[lets go pavel]

Howard has been fine ... not great, but fine. That said, it would be nice if we could rattle off 5 or 6 more wins in a row, get ourselves situated comfortably in the 6-7 seed with some cushion behind us, and then split the starts for the last 10-12 games to get Ozzie some ice time. Howard will be the starter going into the playoffs, and personally I think this is a good year for him to get some playoff experience ... expectations aren't as high as usual, and he's not likely to be the scapegoat if things don't go well.

[Nightfall]

I like Howard over many of the other starting goalies in the NHL. He is doing fine.

[GoalieManPat]

This is entirely subjective and you do not know if this would have happened or not. You are only using this to try to justify your preference of the other goalie.

Not really. If you go based on the stats of both goalies this season then every shot on goal against the Wings, Howard has a better chance of saving then Osgood. Based on this the shot Howard kicks out as a rebound had a better chance of going straight in against Osgood.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Not really. If you go based on the stats of both goalies this season then every shot on goal against the Wings, Howard has a better chance of saving then Osgood. Based on this the shot Howard kicks out as a rebound had a better chance of going straight in against Osgood.

Yes really. Howard may have better stats, but you do not know if Osgood would have let in a goal or not, because he didn't play. So you cannot say such and such would've happened because he did not play.

[interminded]

I don't think Kimmy played that good / confident since the OG.
Why not give Chris Osgood a game ?

And why do some people keep talking about " a risk " when it comes to Ozzie.
The man is able of winning some games, have we forgotten that ?
And please stop talking about his form or achievements, because his last full game was somewhere in december.

Whatever the outcome of this season is, Babcock has handled this poorly.

[SouthernWingsFan]

I don't think Kimmy played that good / confident since the OG.
Why not give Chris Osgood a game ?

And why do some people keep talking about " a risk " when it comes to Ozzie.
The man is able of winning some games, have we forgotten that ?
And please stop talking about his form or achievements, because his last full game was somewhere in december.

Whatever the outcome of this season is, Babcock has handled this poorly.

This team is in need for points as much as possible and as quickly as possible.

It's natural that Osgood will probably see a game/two by default in just the way of an NHL season goes, but this team needs wins and points now, and Howard has proven more this season so far, whether it is fair or not on Osgood, that he is capable of winning more, now.

[Pucks]

I thought maybe we might try to pickup a cheap insurance policy at the deadline like Roloson, but it didn't happen. So you got to go with the only option we have, and that's Howard. He hasn't been playing as well as he was before the break but he's still a far better option that the human 5 hole highlight film.

[Doc Holliday]

I thought maybe we might try to pickup a cheap insurance policy at the deadline like Roloson, but it didn't happen. So you got to go with the only option we have, and that's Howard. He hasn't been playing as well as he was before the break but he's still a far better option that the human 5 hole highlight film.

Obviously considering the "human 5 hole" hasn't played consistently since 2009. He is as cold as an ice cream sandwich right now.

[eva unit zero]

You do realize Howard is 8th in GAA and 5th in SV% right?

Not to mention he is winning games.

One bad game happens, he's the future and he's playing well. There is no reason to change things up.

One bad game?

Here's Howard's numbers over his past ten games.
575:38 Mins, 291 SA, 264 Sv, 30.3 SAPG, 27 GA, 2.81 GAA, .907 sv%

That doesn't really come close to the top of the league, does it? Granted, Howard did have the Olympic break in the middle of that stretch, but his performance was only slightly affected by the break.

Now, let's compare to Osgood's last ten games, which include two relief appearances, and no appearances within seven games of each other since the games of November 23rd and November 27th. The earliest game included is November 20th, for those of you who were wondering.

Osgood's numbers over his past ten:
537:56 Mins, 229 SA, 200 Sv, 25.5 SAPG, 29 GA, 3.23 GAA, .873 sv%

Yes, Ozzie's numbers have been worse; but given the lack of consistent playing time and the fact that the Wings have been playing FAR better recently than they from November through January...Howard's numbers don't really look so good.

Either Howard needs to step it up, or Ozzie needs to get more of a look. Give the guy some consistent playing time and see what he puts on the ice.

[eva unit zero]

If we just break down the four games since the Olympic break, I don't think he's been awful or anything close. The Stewart goal in Colorado was bad, but it was just one softy; when you give up only two goals you give your team a good chance to win and they did. Vancouver was a disaster but that was one of those games where nothing hit the goalie -- pucks were flying in through screens and everything, it happens. Nothing to complain about from Nashville. Yesterday's game he was shaky and got scored on a lot, but the Hawks are no pushovers; the Wings really sat back and let the Hawks take it to them at the end, and the Wings wouldn't be the only team hanging on for dear life in that situation.

He kicks out rebounds from everywhere and he's a bit inconsistent, but he's only a rookie after all. He's given the Wings a chance to win basically every night, and although I love Oz, I don't think if he were the guy starting every game the Wings would be in any better position than they are now.

Howard has let in a lot of "it was just one softie, nothing to worry about" goals this season. People seem not to have noticed this. Yes, he's outplayed Osgood, but he's not nearly the brick wall or perfect tender the Howard slappies have been acting like.

[Carman]

Whats his record in his past 10 games?

Eva you have a habit of breaking numbers down to fit your argument.

Howard's stats might not be very good for the last 10 games, but he only cost us one game.

Hell I could go and find 10 game segments of any hall of fame goaltender and make them look pedestrian too.

Why can't people be happy that we have a young goaltender that is winning games and happens to have top 10 stats?

[Original-Six]

Why can't people be happy that we have a young goaltender that is winning games and happens to have top 10 stats?