The Hockey News: Edward Fraser's blog: THN.com Playoff Blog: With series tied, who should start in goal for Wings?

THN.com Playoff Blog: With series tied, who should start in goal for Wings?

Jason Arnott and the Predators beat Dominik Hasek for three goals on 14 shots in Game 4. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Edward Fraser
2008-04-16 23:54:50

Man, oh man did it stink to be a Red Wings or Predators fan (or blogger) north of the border Wednesday night.

Flipping on the ol’ boob tube to catch the puck drop, hopeful watchers were instead welcomed with the third period of the isn’t-this-over-yet Sens-Pens Game 4 matchup.

Where are my tax dollars going? Anyway…

By the time Ottawa’s death rattle finally concluded, the Preds had beaten old man Hasek for a pair and, after an exchange of goals, Chris Osgood came off the bench to replace the 43-year-old.

So, now, after Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss, who starts Game 5…and beyond?

If I’m Mike Babcock, the decision is simple: I turn to Osgood.

Not only was he flawless in finishing out Game 4, Osgood was statistically the better of the two Wings’ backstoppers in the regular season (2.09 vs. 2.14 GAA; .913 vs. .901 SP).

And it’s not like we’re talking about Jimmy Howard here; Osgood, 35, was the Winged Wheel’s go-to guy during their Stanley Cup victory in ‘98 and has more than 750 games of NHL experience.

Yes, Hasek is a future Hall of Famer, but the rubber-band man has struggled in his past two outings and Osgood has earned the opportunity to be No. 1. (Click HERE to vote on who you think should start Game 5)

MORE CHANGES AHEAD?
After having their roster pillaged due to financial uncertainty last summer, Nashville could be in for more changes this off-season when they could lose UFA starting goaltender Dan Ellis and their top blueliner in Shea Weber. The 22-year-old restricted free agent is one of the game’s best young defensemen and will be a prime target for an offer sheet the Preds may not be able or willing to match.

TOOTHLESS MEN AND THE WOMEN WHO LOVE THEM
Sean Avery may have Elisha Cuthbert, Jarret Stoll may have Rachel Hunter, Mike Comrie may have Hillary Duff and even Tie Domi may have Kelly Carlson, but I think I’m most jealous of Jordin Tootoo for his maybe, maybe-not girlfriend, country music star Kelly Pickler.

IN A PERFECT WORLD…
Regular readers of my blog are well aware of my vehement distaste regarding the NHL’s loser-point system. (For those first time visitors, I’m highly in favor of a two-point win, no-point loss system.)

Here is how the NHL standings would look under the 2-0 and 3-2-1 systems. Division winners get the top three spots. Tiebreakers are first decided by games won, next by record vs. team, and finally goals-for.

I’m thinking the Hurricanes join me on board with change.

2 points win; 0 points loss
WEST				EAST
Team	W	L	Pts	Team	W	L	Pts
Detroit	54	28	108	Montreal	47	35	94
San Jose	49	33	98	Pittsburgh	47	35	94
Minnesota	44	38	88	Carolina	43	39	86
Anaheim	47	35	94	New Jersey	46	36	92
Dallas	45	37	90	Washington	43	39	86
Colorado	44	38	88	Ottawa	43	39	86
Calgary	42	40	84	Philadelphia	42	40	84
Nashville	41	41	82	NY Rangers	42	40	84
Edmonton	41	41	82	Boston	41	41	82
Chicago	40	42	80	Buffalo	39	43	78
Vancouver	39	43	78	Florida	38	44	76
Phoenix	38	42	76	Toronto	36	46	72
Columbus	34	48	68	NY Islanders	35	47	70
St. Louis	33	49	66	Tampa Bay	31	51	62
Los Angeles	32	50	64	Atlanta	34	48	68

3 point regulation win; 2 point OT/SO win; 1 point OT/SO loss
WEST						EAST
Team	W(Reg)	L(Reg)	W(OT)	L(OT)	Pts	Team	W(Reg)	L(Reg)	W(OT)	L(OT)	Pts
Det.	47	21	7	7	162	Pit.	39	27	8	8	141
S.J.	40	23	9	10	148	Mon.	37	25	10	10	141
Min.	35	28	9	10	133	Car.	36	33	7	6	128
Ana.	35	27	12	8	137	Ott.	37	31	6	8	131
Dal.	37	30	8	7	134	Phil.	36	29	6	11	131
Cal.	36	30	6	10	130	N.J.	31	29	15	7	130
Col.	33	31	11	7	128	NYR	30	27	12	13	127
Nas.	33	32	8	9	124	Was.	32	31	11	8	126
Chi.	31	34	9	8	119	Bos.	32	29	9	12	126
Van.	29	33	10	10	117	Buf.	30	31	9	12	120
Pho.	29	37	9	7	112	Fla.	29	35	9	9	114
Edm.	22	35	19	6	110	Tor.	28	35	8	11	111
Col.	29	36	5	12	109	NYI	25	38	10	9	104
St.L	29	36	4	13	108	T.B.	27	42	4	9	98
L.A.	25	43	7	7	96	Atl.	19	40	15	8	95

Related Links

THN.com's Playoff Blogs, featuring analysis and opinion on the action from the night before, with insight on what happened and what it all means going forward, will appear daily throughout the NHL playoffs. Read more entries HERE.

Edward Fraser is the editor of thehockeynews.com. His blog appears Thursdays.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (13)

Sort: Oldest | Newest Filter: All | Videos

Gary Blackburn Posted
(2009-04-30 06:12:00)

I think you will see David Poile sign Weber to a long term deal not long after the end of the season. Mason will be traded and Pekka Rinne brought up from Milwalkee as his backup. Poile did a great job with long term deals prior to the ownership change. Now he will have the money again. The Preds qualified for revenue sharing; corporate support and season tickets are up; attendance has increased significantly; the new lease with its financial incentives has now been approved; and, the new owners have both the money and the faith in Poile to let him do the job. I predict at least one significant free agent acquisition in the summer as well.

Steven Noble Posted
(2009-04-30 06:12:00)

It's official: Dominik Hasek is out, and Chris Osgood is in. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told Hasek he would sit because Osgood was starting Game 5 against the Nashville Predators, who won two straight at home to even the first-round series at two games apiece. "Ozzie has an opportunity," Babcock said Thursday. "We'll see what he does with it." Detroit hosts the pivotal Game 5 in the best-of-seven series Friday night. "I'm 100 per cent ready," Osgood said. The Red Wings played Osgood in 43 regular-season games and Hasek in 41, but Babcock had planned only to play the six-time Vezina Trophy winner in the playoffs. "This is Plan B," acknowledged Babcock, adding Osgood had a strong regular season. Hasek was benched after giving up three goals on 14 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 loss at Nashville, and Osgood had 13 saves in relief. "It was a disappointing performance," Hasek said.

Mike O'Kane Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:59)

Richard Jenkins is right on, and I'll bet he also thinks that zero points for losing in a skill competition would suck because it might wash out a solid 65 minute effort of actual HOCKEY. And, Steven Noble is spot on in his assessment of the Wings' goalie situation. These blogs are often good, but it's extra nice when the posted comments have some intelligent stuff too!

alex Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:59)

caught the entire 3rd period of the preds-wings game...it was amazing! probably because the wings were so dominant, but man, I'd love to know how many play stoppages there were...i think there were less than 5 in the first half of the period, and one was a goal... THAT was entertaining hockey. even when there weren't alot of chances, there were so many hits and good battles along the boards. so much fun

Richard Jenkins Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:59)

Bang on. Mike O'Kane

Steven Noble Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:58)

Hasek is over the hill. Even his comments following Game 3 allude to that when he said he saw the last shot but simply couldn't stop it. He doesn't have the reflexes or the response time he once did. And he's definitely not as mobile. He was lousy the second half of Game 3 and lousy to start Game 4. Meanwhile Osgoode was rock solid when he came in. To me the only question is why did Babcock leave Hasek in for the third goal. If he'd pulled Hasek after the second they may have won the game... Osgoode all the way from here on out and Hasek can go and retire for once and for all. We'll see you at the hall of fame ceremony.

Ed Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:56)

3-2-1 looks great to me - and more importantly rewards teams for taking risks during regular time (which fits with the leagues desire to promote a shorter games). Also, I'm with whatsthatsmell (below) - the leafs should hire Nonis immediately.

Richard Jenkins Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:56)

Winning a lousy shootout just doesn't equate to winning a game. 3-point standings look good. I'm with C to the M, in that just look at the total point column if you can't deal with the basic arithmetic.

ericthered Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:55)

the first looks like hockey. The second looks like baseball. Nuff said

whatsthatsmell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:11:55)

No matter which scoring system you use, Toronto still sucks. Let's bring in Nonis.

1 2 Next »