Goaltending "controversy" in Detroit?
by Casey Richey on Dec 29, 2009 3:01 PM CST
in Opinion
Email
PrintI'm not Ken Holland. I'm not Mike Babcock. Hell, I'm nobody in terms of hockey authority. But I can definitely tell the difference between Chris Osgood's play and Jimmy Howard's. And apparently both Holland and Babcock know that difference too. Why else would Howard have started so many games recently? Even with Osgood missing starts from the flu, Howard still would have had the majority of those.
Jimmy stopped 39 of 40 shots last night and is currently 8th in the league in GAA, not bad for a rookie. Osgood on the other hand has struggled a lot this year and was even pulled after letting in too many goals in too short of a time for Babcock's liking. But then again, Chris Osgood has that experience and veteran leadership that Howard doesn't have. Does experience outweigh what Howard has done?
I know this is a controversial subject among Detroit fans and that's exactly why I bring it up. We want to hear what you think on the Detroit goaltending "controversy" that is taking place. Who do you think gives the Wings the best chance to win? Tell us who you think is the right man for the job and why.
Stats for each after the jump
32 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Why does everyone talk about a controversy?
It seems to me people were making a big deal about this the same time last season too. But there is no controversy. Babcock likes to go with what is working and while Osgood was sick Howard was working so Howard gets the start. Howard needs the experience and he is hoped to be the main goaltender after Osgood retires. If that experience doesn’t hurt too much and it hasn’t then that’s an easy choice.
by Casey Richey on Dec 29, 2009 5:22 PM CST up reply actions
At the beginning of the year it looked like Jimmy Howard was over playing the puck and just wasn’t ready. But he looks very good now. The thing I notice most about him is his quickness. He is much quicker than Ozzie right now which helps him on rebounds and quick passing plays. Now if only they could start scoring goals, this good goaltending would actually mean something.
agreed
he’s gotten better at reading the plays and his quickness is a big advantage. He does have some problem areas still but he’s come a long way since the start of the season
by Casey Richey on Dec 29, 2009 5:22 PM CST up reply actions
Experience needed.
Developing Jimmy Howard’s goal tending has been quite fruitful lately. However, there is no such thing as a star rookie NHL goalie. It takes time to develop the type of player Ozzie has become. Let us not forget the regular season has not been kind to the Red Wings, to say the least. Ozzie was a bear last playoffs and I am certain he still has the skills and experience needed for a serious playoff run. At this point, I don’t think it is a matter of who is better. Everyone knows that the post season and regular season are two different monsters entirely. Seeing a promising goalie like Howard on the roster is exciting, but there is no doubt Ozzie is still needed.
If Howard gets us to the playoffs (I shudder that I have to say that), would you put Ozzy in just for his experience? I have a lot of respect for Ozzy; he’s the second best Wing netminder ever (second to Terry, of course), but he can’t be the starter if he can’t win the games he starts. If Howard gets us there, we have to keep riding him.
To be perfectly honest, the Penguins f’ed up two years ago with this exact thing. Their starting keeper went down with an injury and their backup came in and carried them to the playoffs. He was promptly benched when Fleury came back and they lost their hotness.
It happened last year. We sent Ozzy home because he wasn’t getting the job done, and the exact same goalie who led the Pens to the playoffs the previous year led us to the playoffs. Granted, Ozzy was spectacular in the playoffs. He may very well be the greatest playoff goalie of all time (with all due respect to Patrick Roy, Eddy Belfour, and Grant Fuhr, of course), but he hasn’t been himself at all this season. He’s a shadow of himself from last season, and not the playoff version of him.
If Howard takes us there this year, we have to keep him as the starter unless he falters. If he lets up and we fall behind, throw Ozzy in there. But we have to make the transition eventually. I think Howard has more than proven the last two months that he is our future and, perhaps, present. I say we do it now while we still have a formidable veteran goalie behind him as a fallback.
by Apocalyptic0n3 on Dec 29, 2009 7:50 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Shadow of himself from last season?
Osgood has been worlds better this regular season than he was last regular season. He’s facing all of the “real” teams, while Jimmy is facing the dregs of the league. Wait until other teams have a book on Jimmy. His success has almost as much to do with the cruddy teams he’s playing against, along with the fact that shooters have absolutely no familiarity with his tendencies, as it does with his actual level of play. He’s playing well enough. But he’s not been spectacular, and certainly not even remotely close to good enough for a playoff run.
Crap. I didn’t mean to reply to you specifically with that. I actually meant to say that there are such things as star rookie goalies. Mason put his team into the playoffs last year, something I did not think would happen. Brodeur won 27 games his first season and got the Devils to the conference finals (and then beat us in the Finals in his third season, too). Patrick Roy was spectacular his rookie season and won the Cup, too.
Superstar rookie goalies do exist. They are rare, but they do happen. I don’t think Howard is such a case, but I think he’s proven himself more than capable of being our backstop.
by Apocalyptic0n3 on Dec 29, 2009 7:54 PM CST up reply actions
Regular Season / Playoffs
I believe it is in the Wings best interest to play Howard as much as they can through the regular season. However, I still see Osgood as our playoff goalie this season. I was not a Howard backer early in the season, after saying that, I can see that he has made major improvements in his game. He is not perfect but, he is becoming a good NHL goalie and we need to continue to play him.. After the Olympic break we need to give each goalie half of the remaining games to play. Hopefully by then Osgood will be in top form for the playoffs.
My take...
Coming into this season I wasnt very comfortable with Jimmy as the back up but he has done one heck of a job. He was 0 for a lifetime in wins coming in but he is showing everyone why Ken Holland drafted him so high in the draft. When it comes to veteran leadership and a rookie you have to go with who does the job day in and day out. As of right now that job is Howards. He has really matured and I think when the playoffs start you start Ozzie because he has won 3 cups for us 2 as the main starter. Then give Jimmy a couple starts to get his feet wet for down the road when Ozzie retires he has that experience in games that really matter. As of right now its Jimmy’s job to lose.
My two cents worth
I have to weigh in on this debate if I could. Jimmy Howard is a much better goaltender than Osgood is….Period! Ozzy is not playing smart positional goal…he does not remember the basics of butterfly to cover more net and seems more focused on keeping the play alive.
Jimmy is always square to the shooters and is quick post to post, whereas Osgood is just plain slow and makes up for it with a quick glove hand but is EXTREMELY vulnerable to the Five Hole!! The team needs Jimmy in Net.
Thanks for your time!
I find
that osgood was doing very poorly because we had some defensive woes earlier in the season. Being a goaltender used to such a stalwart defensive group he has not done good in his past starts. Now that our D is shaping up I think he may become a little better. If we get healthy again he can regain that top spot.
On to Jimmy Howard. The guy has done terrific. I was skeptical of him start of season. But now he has proved himself. The D has shaped up to his style of play. he can give up rebounds but I think the D has gotten used to that. that being said, It may help Osgood out to if the D is used to that.
Ozzie just needs some help from the team and we will be fine.
Im like Steve Yzerman! No, not the leadership, goals, two way play or sportmanship..... Just the knee pain!
Does it matter?
It doesn’t matter who the Wings put in net if we don’t start scoring more goals!
in a way you're right
But also, since we’re scoring so little, we need the goalie that is going to allow the fewest goals since we aren’t hardly netting any ourselves.
by Casey Richey on Dec 30, 2009 7:48 AM CST up reply actions
I agree with more goal scoring
Allowing 1 goal in a game should def be a victory. The only person who has put the puck in the net recently is bertuzzi. That just cant happen, I believe we should be debating our goal scoring issue before i goaltending issues. If we score 0 every night, then who cares how many they put up on us, it will still be the same result…… A loss.
i think the goal scoring will come with the return of players. Let’s face it, that we had an AHL callup on our second line in the last game as a “scorer” shows our lack of scoring depth from injuries.
Honestly, Miller, Abdelkader, Helm, Draper, Maltby, May, and Eaves are guys you shouldn’t have to call on to be your secondary scorers. They should be tertiary scorers but right now, we need them as secondary scorers and its not working out. Not to any fault of their own at all, just how the cards are dealt sometimes
by Casey Richey on Dec 30, 2009 8:21 AM CST up reply actions
Things are bad but not so bad that no one should be scoring. What happened to the team that could still win even when its top lines were completely ineffective? It’s still there but everyone is equally ineffective now. It is like they have accepted that they will lose even before getting on the ice. And the sad thing is that they won 2/3 of the games that they scored in this month.
There is no excuse for being shutout 4 times in 13 games, much less 3 in 4.
by bleep bloop on Dec 30, 2009 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
Opportunity to raise game and get that experience
Starting Howard right now with so many Detroit stars out gives Howard the opportunity to raise his game and get that regular season experience. If he gets on a roll without great defensemen, think about how Detroit will be when they do come back?
i was thinking the same thing
Imagine Kronwall and Ericsson (to a lesser extent) instead of Janik or Meech/Lebda and I think Jimmy/Ozzie would be even better
by Casey Richey on Dec 30, 2009 7:50 AM CST up reply actions
Controversy
this is a natural transition. We have seen “the Grind Line” all but disappear, Yzerman and Shanahan are gone, the Russian Core of the team has been replaced by a Swedish core, and now its Goaltendings turn. There are two excellent prospects behind Howard and Osgood, and they can’t wait forever. With the team struggling to be a playoff team, with the injuries and defections this is the perfect time to give Howard the opportunity to make the job his. Next transition will be Lidstrom, a much more scary one/
Chris Osgood
I think many people are unaware of Chris Osgoods personal life. His wife has had countless problems with miscarriages. I’m not sure how many of you are parent’s out there but I’m sure it would take a toll on you too if you wife kept losing your baby in such a horrible way.
Osgood has the skill and the heart. Give the guy a break (sometimes there is more to the situation the we clearly see). He’s human.
And let me remind you he ALWAYS pulls it together for the playoffs.
that, i did not know
but I don’t think any of us are really raggin on him hard. Just voicing which guy we think is the best chance for the Wings to win.
I could understand that that would have a hard effect on him definitely.
by Casey Richey on Dec 30, 2009 9:39 PM CST up reply actions
mandym
I’ll put this as nicely as possible. It’s not really your place to go disclosing personal, extremely private, and sensitive information such as that which you just posted. Whether or not it’s true, it’s quite simply not your place. And I’m sure that Christopher, Jenna, and their respective families would not, and I do mean not, appreciate you throwing that tidbit out there on an internet blog as though you were posting up nothing more important than your grocery shopping list. I’m just saying….
Give Howie a chance
I say let Howard play and until he falters, let him keep the starting role. Ozzie isnt gettin any younger,and he could probably use the rest from the grind of the regular season. Plus he’ll have to get experience sometime,so why not while we still have a capable vet to back him up instead of needing to sort through all the young goalies developing in the system. Howard looks to be turning into a very solid goalie and if he can get rid of that consistency issue then Im sure we’ll have no trouble transitioning from Ozzie to Jimmy.
edmondton
Perhaps you are right. it’s a very sensitive subject for them I’m sure. However I just feel sometimes people need to know that in life and in situations it might do them well to look past whats right in front of them. To have compassion and to realize a game is just that a game. To realize every hockey player is human and has regular problems like the rest of us. To realize they are not unlike the rest of us who have a bad day that travels over to work. It’s not my intention to “air” their personal issues. Its my intention to make people aware and not so close minded.
So if I’ve offended you personally I apologize.
I support the Red Wings 100% and I look at every aspect of a player when I decide who I think should play (not that its any of our choices, again we’re voicing OUR opinions and I just happen to look at all the facts when deciding) My choice is with Ozzie, he has the heart and the talent he just has to find the will.
mandym
My choice is with Osgood, as well. Always has been. I still find it amusing the number of times that the guy is written off as finished, only to prove everyone wrong again. And again. And again.
I also find it amusing the length to which many Wings fans will go to take a flying leap onto the bandwagon of any goaltender, as long as it’s not Chris Osgood.
Legace? Really? Conklin? You’re kidding, right? And now Howard? Come on, folks. It’s like they’re desparate for any goaltender, anyone, anyone at all, just so long as that goaltender supplants Osgood. Preferably permanently.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Puck Previews: Ducks’ road trip continues; Sens, Panthers in battle of most surprising teams
- Watch the weirdest goal of the year, courtesy of ECHL ref’s rulebook gaffe (VIDEO)
- Jeremy Roenick’s OK with Blackhawks trading Patrick Kane for goalie upgrade
- Puck Headlines: Rick Nash chatter; Jagr turns 40; Ovechkin too much of a rock star?
- NHL Trade Deadline Dream Scenarios: Whom do you want to go where?
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
