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Time For Ozzie To Step Forward
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock is in a precarious situation.
On one hand, he needs to give Jimmy Howard a breather. Howard was the hot hand. Babcock rode him for a long time., but he's cooled off.
The Red Wings have developed this propensity for blowing late leads lately - and Howard has been the goalie in most of those games.
Not sure how much of it has been Howard's fault. But it is true that a goalie's main job is to make sure somehow, some way, he makes late saves that matter in such games.
The rub comes with Chris Osgood. He has not played well at all this season. In fact, Howard has carried the team and is the primary reason the Red Wings are still in position for a good shot at a playoff berth.
But now Babcock doesn't have much choice but to turn to Osgood for more playing time in the near future, if for no other reason than to let Howard settle down. Can Ozzie play well right now? The Red Wings need him badly.
My column in Wednesday's Oakland Press on the Michigan-Michigan State game http://tinyurl.com/yellcbh
On one hand, he needs to give Jimmy Howard a breather. Howard was the hot hand. Babcock rode him for a long time., but he's cooled off.
The Red Wings have developed this propensity for blowing late leads lately - and Howard has been the goalie in most of those games.
Not sure how much of it has been Howard's fault. But it is true that a goalie's main job is to make sure somehow, some way, he makes late saves that matter in such games.
The rub comes with Chris Osgood. He has not played well at all this season. In fact, Howard has carried the team and is the primary reason the Red Wings are still in position for a good shot at a playoff berth.
But now Babcock doesn't have much choice but to turn to Osgood for more playing time in the near future, if for no other reason than to let Howard settle down. Can Ozzie play well right now? The Red Wings need him badly.
My column in Wednesday's Oakland Press on the Michigan-Michigan State game http://tinyurl.com/yellcbh
posted by Pat Caputo at
1:17 PM
2 Comments:
Pat,
Jimmy Howard has been a rock between the pipes. Something I forsure never expected, since he was getting to be in that so called, "prime" part of his career. Up to this point he proved that he was a waste of hype but now is backing it up. The way Ozzie plays is indeed a key factor to how well the wings do down the road. The bigger issue is this break for the Olympic Games. Will this older team come back from the break hungry and ready for a run? I hope so, this is an old group with the window closing in on them. Once they are in the playoffs than anything can happen. Just look at Edmonton in 2006.
Thanks,
Ian
Ian_Shapiro,
Great point about Olympics. The Red Wings will have a lot of players there - some older. Other teams will have more rested players. Difficult landscape for Red Wings, that's for sure.
Caputo
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