Osgood circa 2008 *Mod Advisory @ #18*

[kipwinger 8,522]

I know this thread will quickly slip into obscurity, but oh well.

I was just looking at Chris Osgood's 2008 playoff performance (because I like to imagine that single performance created the "Mike Babcock as genius" myth), and it was ungodly. If not for Osgood, we get beat in the first round.

14-4 record

1.55 goals against.

930 save percentage

3 shutouts (2 in the finals).

[rick zombo 3,739]

Osgood was really really very very good that year.

One of my favourite quites from that run was when Babcock talked about how switching goalies 4 games into a first round series usually meant you were done. I even rember not having much hope after game 4. Fortunately, that was not the case.

[gcom007 1,465]

He was absolutely great in 2008. Two shutouts to start the finals against that Pittsburgh offense speaks for itself, great team in front of him or not.

But I actually thought he was better on an individual level in the 2009 playoffs, despite putting up worse stats. When you consider how well he played despite having to play behind a very battered team that even lost Lidstrom for some games, I think there's no way he wouldn't have won the Conn Smythe had we beaten Pittsburgh.

Edited January 8, 2015 by gcom007

[kipwinger 8,522]

He was absolutely great in 2008. Two shutouts to start the finals against that Pittsburgh offense speaks for itself, great team in front of him or not.

But I actually thought he was better on an individual level in the 2009 playoffs, despite putting up worse stats. When you consider how well he played despite having to play behind a very battered team that even lost Lidstrom for some games, I think there's no way he wouldn't have won the Conn Smythe had we beaten Pittsburgh.

He deserved the Conn Smythe in 2008. Hank was awesome, don't get me wrong, but Osgood kept us alive.

[LeftWinger 4,953]

007, Ya,I agree. Ozzie, as good as he was in 08, he was just as if not a bit better in 09. If it weren't for a goal post by Lidstrom, we would've won game 7, and an unbelievable save by Letang in front of an empty net...oh and there is that little "instigating" by Makin in game 2, that was somehow rescinded, that would have resulted in him being suspended in game 3, thus pretty much allowing us to go up 3-0 in the series, since Malkin factored in all goals scored by Pitt in game 3....Ozzie most definitely would have been Conn Smythe.

Ya, I am still steaming over that one...

[gcom007 1,465]

007, Ya,I agree. Ozzie, as good as he was in 08, he was just as if not a bit better in 09. If it weren't for a goal post by Lidstrom, we would've won game 7, and an unbelievable save by Letang in front of an empty net...oh and there is that little "instigating" by Makin in game 2, that was somehow rescinded, that would have resulted in him being suspended in game 3, thus pretty much allowing us to go up 3-0 in the series, since Malkin factored in all goals scored by Pitt in game 3....Ozzie most definitely would have been Conn Smythe.

Ya, I am still steaming over that one...

I'm still steaming as well. I absolutely still feel that the NHL did what they could to help Pittsburgh over the top in 2009. It's just a shame we were so beat up because it wouldn't have even been a contest if we were just a bit healthier.

[rick zombo 3,739]

I wonder how MeandMannieupinatree>>>>>>>Ozzie feels about this thread

[Nev 1,085]

He was very, very good in both post-seasons, but in a different way.

2008 the team in front of him was dominant, and he had to make very few saves. But crucially - and I pointed this out repeatedly in the GDTs at the time - the saves he had to make were usually of the "golden chance" variety. Our high tempo, smothering play style conceded very few chances, but when it broke down it usually left someone all alone in front. Zetterberg was our clear MVP, Osgood is in a group with Lids, Dats step below. Much pretty much everyone on the roster that year was an A.

2009 was a complete different kettle of fish. The team in front of him was battered and broken down, and not playing particularly great. He was easily our best player as we didn't dominate anything like we did in '08

[gcom007 1,465]

He was very, very good in both post-seasons, but in a different way.

2008 the team in front of him was dominant, and he had to make very few saves. But crucially - and I pointed this out repeatedly in the GDTs at the time - the saves he had to make were usually of the "golden chance" variety. Our high tempo, smothering play style conceded very few chances, but when it broke down it usually left someone all alone in front. Zetterberg was our clear MVP, Osgood is in a group with Lids, Dats step below. Much pretty much everyone on the roster that year was an A.

2009 was a complete different kettle of fish. The team in front of him was battered and broken down, and not playing particularly great. He was easily our best player as we didn't dominate anything like we did in '08

Exactly. Can't take anything away from what he did in 2008, but as the playoffs in 2009 went on, it felt more and more like he was carrying a broken team on his back. He wasn't the only great player, but he was our best player, and he took us about as far as you can go and as close as you can come to the Cup without winning, and again, I think it's fair to say the other side got more than a few beneficial calls along the way.

[canadian wings fan 305]

Very very excellent by a very very playoff goalie in Ozzie

[kipwinger 8,522]

Very very excellent by a very very playoff goalie in Ozzie

You know his regular season stats compare very favorably to guys like Fuhr and Roy too?

[gcom007 1,465]

Very very excellent by a very very playoff goalie in Ozzie

I see what you did there...

[rick zombo 3,739]

You know his regular season stats compare very favorably to guys like Fuhr and Roy too?

Almost Hall of Fame worthy but apparently not quite.

[kipwinger 8,522]

Almost Hall of Fame worthy but apparently not quite.

Sooooo annoying when I hear that. He actually beats Fuhr across the board, and is back and forth with Roy as far as who has better numbers. But everybody knows Osgood played behind a great team, while those other two played behind a bunch of bums and had to do it all themselves.

[toby91_ca 620]

It's funny, Fleury was way better in 2008 than in 2009 and 2009 is the year he won.

[kipwinger 8,522]

It's funny, Fleury was way better in 2008 than in 2009 and 2009 is the year he won.

2008 is the only year that Fleury wasn't either pedestrian, or horrible, in the playoffs. Buuuuut I'm sure he'll buck that trend this year lol.

[Yzerfan87 146]

Sooooo annoying when I hear that. He actually beats Fuhr across the board, and is back and forth with Roy as far as who has better numbers. But everybody knows Osgood played behind a great team, while those other two played behind a bunch of bums and had to do it all themselves.

Yea, and Brodeur is a god when the team only allowed 5 shots to get to him in most games and he got a lot of shutouts, but Ozzy is a bum who shouldn't make the Hall of Fame.

[vladdy16 2,154]

Please let's tread very carefully here. The topic is Ozzie's 2008 performance and how it affected Babcock's image. This will not become another "Ultimate Goalie Thread."

[kipwinger 8,522]

Please let's tread very carefully here. The topic is Ozzie's 2008 performance and how it affected Babcock's image. This will not become another "Ultimate Goalie Thread."

Actually it was just his 2008 performance. The Babcock part was just me being a smartass and making an aside.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

It was a lot better than his bumbling run 10 years earlier, when he looked like Harpo Marx out there.

Didn't Ozzie also make the ASG in 2008?

[kipwinger 8,522]

It was a lot better than his bumbling run 10 years earlier, when he looked like Harpo Marx out there.

Didn't Ozzie also make the ASG in 2008?

He STARTED the All-Star game in 2008.

Non-smartass question...if he were an All-Star that season, why did he not start the first 4 games of the Nashville series?

[Jedi 1,865]

It was a lot better than his bumbling run 10 years earlier, when he looked like Harpo Marx out there.

Didn't Ozzie also make the ASG in 2008?

Yes he did. And was the starting goalie for the West too, after Luongo withdrew from the game due to travel issues and his wife expecting their first baby.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

He STARTED the All-Star game in 2008.

Non-smartass question...if he were an All-Star that season, why did he not start the first 4 games of the Nashville series?

At the time I thought Ozzy should get the nod because he was playing so well, but when the other goalie is one of if not the best goaltender to ever play the game, a guy who has strapped teams on his back and carried them to the final rounds, you give him a shot.

It's funny though that you're going all the way back to 2008 to try and chip away at Babcock's reputation and the "myth" of his genius.

He's a coach who:

Won a Stanley Cup

Got to the Finals two other times (once with a cinderella team)

won 2 Gold medals

Is the only coach in the triple gold club.

second fastest to 500 wins (Bowman being 1st)

But the "myth of his genius" was formed on Ozzy's playoff run in 2008? Honestly at this point your Babcock fixation is genuinely entertaining.

[kipwinger 8,522]

At the time I thought Ozzy should get the nod because he was playing so well, but when the other goalie is one of if not the best goaltender to ever play the game, a guy who has strapped teams on his back and carried them to the final rounds, you give him a shot.

It's funny though that you're going all the way back to 2008 to try and chip away at Babcock's reputation and the "myth" of his genius.

He's a coach who:

Won a Stanley Cup

Got to the Finals two other times (once with a cinderella team)

won 2 Gold medals

Is the only coach in the triple gold club.

second fastest to 500 wins (Bowman being 1st)

But the "myth of his genius" was formed on Ozzy's playoff run in 2008? Honestly at this point your Babcock fixation is genuinely entertaining.

Presumably you haven't scrolled down to where I said of the purpose of the thread..."Actually it was just his 2008 performance. The Babcock part was just me being a smartass and making an aside".

And furthermore, at this point part of the reason I talk so much s*** about Babcock is because I know you'll write a report to defend him. Kinda like krsmith17 does with Brendan Smith.

Lighten up Harold.

[vladdy16 2,154]

Presumably you haven't scrolled down to where I said of the purpose of the thread..."Actually it was just his 2008 performance. The Babcock part was just me being a smartass and making an aside".

And furthermore, at this point part of the reason I talk so much s*** about Babcock is because I know you'll write a report to defend him. Kinda like krsmith17 does with Brendan Smith.

Lighten up Harold.

Well, you opened the door for the Babcock discussion, so I didn't want to discount it.. Also, it speaks to your posting on the subject that I couldn't determine if you were serious or sarcastic. Sarcasm is encouraged.