Osgood making up for lost time
DETROIT – Had everything gone according to the Detroit Red Wings' plan, Chris Osgood would be watching his team's march to another Stanley Cup from the best seat in house.
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| Chris Osgood is in a better frame of mind now that he's playing more. (Getty Images) |
"I never really looked at myself as a backup, because you don't want to fall into that trap," Osgood said. "I know I can play, I don't think I'd be 15 years deep if I couldn't, but I always try to do what I need to do to make myself a better player and now I'm just seeing the rewards of it."
Big ones, too. Detroit came into the playoffs with future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek slated to hold down the starting duties, but the 43-year-old struggled in the opening round against Nashville and was replaced by Osgood in Game 4 of that series. The Red Wings haven't looked back since, winning their next nine games in a row and 11 of 13 overall with Osgood. He's become the leading goalie in the playoffs with a 1.48 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.
"He's been great for us," said Detroit forward Kris Draper, after Osgood blanked the Penguins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 19-save effort that was highlighted by a great opening period, when Pittsburgh came up empty on four power-play chances.
"If it wasn't for Ossie, it could have been a different hockey game. We were back on our heels at the start and if he doesn't come up making those big saves, it's a different game."
It is a different game now for Osgood, and the latest stage of what has been a remarkable turnaround for a veteran who has re-invented himself in his second go-round with an organization that essentially gave up on him nearly a decade ago.
Selected by Detroit in the third round of the 1991 draft, Osgood first cracked the Red Wings' lineup two years later, although it took until 1995-96 to firmly establish himself. Osgood shared the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed that season with Mike Vernon, but two seasons later when Detroit won its first Stanley Cup in 42 years, Osgood spent most of the playoffs riding the bench while his partner won the MVP award.
Vernon was traded after that season over a contractual dispute and Osgood led the Red Wings to a repeat Stanley Cup, but with Detroit unable to continue its run of success, Osgood found himself playing the scapegoat role before long. To an extent it was justified because his numbers were slipping, but there was a historical context as well for the knowledgeable fans in Detroit who never let him forget a bad giveaway in 1994 that led to a series-winning third-period goal by the underdog San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the first round.
There were other less-than-auspicious moments that followed and by 2001, after several years of postseason frustration, the Red Wings decided they had had enough of someone GM Ken Holland once described as being "an NHL goalie who had high school technical skills." Detroit traded for Hasek and waived Osgood, who ended up with the New York Islanders, where he led the team to its first playoff appearance in eight seasons.
"Some things just run its course and it was time for me to leave, I was here for 10 years," said Osgood, who spent a couple of seasons with St. Louis after two in New York. "But that was one of the best years of my career. We were 30th the year before and we finished (seventh), and as a player I did it, I was there. But I always knew I'd be back, I just bided my time."
Four years later, Osgood's patience paid off when he accepted a free-agent offer from Detroit after the lockout for the bargain price of $800,000. At the time, Holland said he was taking a chance on Osgood because he "knew how to play goal in Detroit," but equally important, the veteran had learned the butterfly technique, a style which the majority of top NHL goalies were using.
"I took what I did good before mixed it with kind of the new moves that some of the younger guys are using nowadays," Osgood said. "I played with some veteran guys that did it when they were my age, which enabled them to play longer and play better at the latter stage of their career."
