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Abel to Yzerman

Two Days Later: Why Osgood?

by IwoCPO on 01/20/09 at 11:46 AM ET
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A loss in January can never be viewed as a game that defines a team.  Not when we’re talking about a team that proved its mettle the last two years in the playoffs.  Hell, if the Wings themselves have reason to remember any game against San Jose—still—it might be Game 4 in the ‘07 playoffs.

But, that doesn’t mean Saturday didn’t raise a few questions from the 19.

Like, for instance…why the Hell didn’t Ty Conklin start that game?

Oh, that’s right.  The rotation.  Must stick to the rotation at all costs.  Because Saturday’s game wasn’t any bigger than tonite’s or last Thursday’s, right? 

Riggghhhtt.  Forget the fact that leading up to Saturday, Conklin had won five straight, given up five goals over those five games and, yeah, registered three shutouts in that five-game span.  His last five games? Chris Osgood’s given up 17 goals.

Over five games Conklin had let in one less goal than the “starter” did in three periods Saturday night. 

Oh, and the best penalty killer has to be your goalie?  Ty Conklin’s given up 3 power play goals his last five games.

Statistics are misleading. We use them to cater to our own arguments. The few times I ever use them I guarantee someone who sits on the other side of the fence could use those same numbers to make their own points.  But give me a frigging break, Mike.  These are just too stark, too obvious, too blatant to deny any longer.

                    Games         GAA         Save Percentage         Shots Against       Saves Made       Shutouts    

Conklin/Osgood:    22/24         2.21/3.23           .922/.883               616/616             568/581           5/0

Khan(!)

“I think Conks has been fantastic, all you got to do is look at his numbers,” coach Mike Babcock said. “His numbers are as good as any starting goalie in the league.”

Conklin is considered the backup to Chris Osgood. But much like Osgood pushed Dominik Hasek for the starting job last season, Conklin is doing the same thing to Osgood this season.

“Just keep going and see what happens,” Babcock said. “These things have a way of working themselves out, as they did last year.”

Yeah. Got it.  But when?

Here’s a comment that didn’t make it into the live blog pick the idiot contest this morning.  Matt Adler asked us all this six minutes into Sunday.

on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest; how much confidence do you have in Osgood tonight?

Needless to say, the results of that were lukewarm.

But here’s the deal and I’m not saying a damn thing we don’t already know.  We create the goalie controversies. We’re the ones who rock back and forth. We’re the ones who just can’t let this stuff go.  Uncle Mike?  Well, like he said, he’d prefer to let things “work themselves out.” And they will. 

If the playoffs started today?  I bet he’d go with Osgood.  But that leash would be damn short. Shorter than the one that Insane Czech played on last year.

Chris Osgood’s still your starter, I’ll bet.  Like it or not, I’ll bet you it’s still his job to lose.

Turning and twisting.  The rotation keeps moving and spinning.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977.  No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y.  Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation.  There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature.  Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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