Bill Clement

When it comes to a team having to go to Plan B in goal during the postseason, the Red Wings are in the catbird seat. No other team in the playoffs has a Chris Osgood.

Osgood is in his second stint with the Red Wings and he’s suddenly got a shot to make it a most memorable one. During his first stretch with Detroit he led his team to a Stanley Cup in 1998 and now he has the chance to repeat that feat.

Osgood replaced Dominik Hasek in goal during Game 4 of Detroit’s opening-round series with Nashville. After winning the first two games, Hasek’s netminding cooled off considerably and the Predators were showing signs of playing their way back into the series. Nashville sensed the top-seeded Red Wings had hit a speed bump or worse in their bid to capture the Western Conference — that is until Osgood got between the pipes.

In finishing out Game 4 and starting both Games 5 and 6 Osgood would allow only one goal and the wall he put up against Nashville shots helped Detroit take the series, four games to two. A future Hall-of-Famer, Hasek is now relegated to backup status as Red Wings coach Mike Babcock stayed with Osgood starting in goal for the conference semifinals against Colorado.

Osgood's “A” game still working
Osgood helping to save the Red Wings from what would have been an embarrassing early exit from the playoffs shouldn’t come as all that big a surprise to anyone who knows the goalie or has followed his career and his season. The veteran provided Babcock with a great luxury at a position which in the postseason becomes the most important factor in keeping a team in the hunt for a championship.

Osgood has been sort of waiting in the wings for a chance at making another journey towards achieving the ultimate prize in the NHL. That chance came when Hasek allowed five goals on the last 18 shots he faced in Games 3 and 4 and Osgood got the call. And with his resume and experience a team couldn’t do better than turn to him in a pinch. For sure the Red Wings know that, so do the Avalanche and so do the rest of those teams fortunate enough to still be playing hockey in the NHL’s second season.

At 35, Osgood shows no signs his career is closer to its end than its beginning. In part due to Hasek’s hip problems, Osgood started 43 games in the regular season and all he did was lead the league with a 2.09 goals against average. His performance was so impressive that he started for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Osgood may not be the goaltender he once was but even in his mid-thirties he’s close to his peak form. And anything lost to age may well be compensated for in experience.

It's his makeup that matters most
One of Osgood’s outstanding attributes is his personality, one that has him always having fun and always on an even keel no matter how well or poorly he is faring in the nets. It’s almost like to him life is meant to have fun and even the most pressurized brand of hockey is not going to keep him from doing just that. He has never been someone who overreacts to anything. A player of tremendous composure, it was his calming presence that teammates felt when he came to the rescue in the series against Nashville.

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A goalie can’t drag his failures or successes along with him because in doing that he may adversely impact his performances in future games. Osgood has shown he was in class the day that lesson was taught. The year he won the Stanley Cup with Red Wings he was scored on more than once from outside the blue line. The goals were costly but Osgood didn’t carry the weight of surrendering them on his shoulders for very long. Come the next game, he was ready to play. In the end that quality helped him and his team win a championship.

A beautiful part of Osgood’s approach to his line of work is that he refuses to allow himself to look too far ahead or too far back. It’s pretty clear what he’s thinking and that is just play in the now. And that’s what it’s about when manning a NHL net – staying in the now. To be successful a goalie needs to do that as much as a closer in baseball, maybe even more.

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