NHL

Great save by a good, no, great goalie

After Osgood puts Wings on verge of Cup, time to (finally) give him his due

Frank Gunn / AP

Goalie Chris Osgood celebrates after his 22-save effort helped the Red Wings defeat the Penguins 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night. Detroit leads the series 3-1 and can win its 11th Cup with a victory at home in Game 5 on Monday (8 p.m. ET, NBC).

Osgood returned to Detroit as a free agent after the lockout and continued his revitalization under Wings goaltending instructor Jim Bedard. "Both guys teach me a lot," Osgood said.

He’s a vastly different netminder than the guy who took the Wings to the Cup a decade ago. This version of Osgood challenges shooters, squares up to the puck and employs vastly superior technique. "I just try to make myself big and be patient," said Osgood, whose poise is as noteworthy as his puckstopping.

"I don’t really look at streaks and records," he said. "You play in that particular game, that moment. That’s how our team approaches is and so do I."

This season, Osgood led the NHL in goals-against average and was the Western Conference starter in the NHL All-Star Game. Still, he was Hasek’s backup as the playoffs started this spring.

Four games into the postseason, with the Wings deadlocked 2-2 in their opening-round series against Nashville, Osgood exiled Hasek to the bench.

Detroit hasn’t looked back since.

"He just continues to make big saves at key times," Draper said.

So far this spring, Osgood is 13-3. With 51 wins and 12 shutouts — two in this series — he’s surpassed Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk to move into top spot among Detroit netminders in both categories.

In doing so, he’s put himself into the argument for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Often in the past — including this spring — people have pointed to Osgood as the reason why the Wings would lose.

In Game 4, he was the reason why they won.

Don't expect anything differently Monday as the Wings try to wrap another Cup.

Bob Duff writes regularly for NBCSports.com and covers the NHL for the Windsor (Ontario) Star.

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