Old Guys

The Red Wings' old guys are really turning the trick these days. Chris Osgood cemented his place in Red Wings (and NHL) history a few days ago (more on that later), Nicklas Lidstrom is scoring more points than some forwards, and Kris Draper is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. It's refreshing, especially the Kris Draper thing, because he is one of this authors favorite players ever. People were starting to doubt him, and while he isn't having a career season, he IS contributing, and that has to count for something.

Watching the last game gave me fits. Jiri Hudler (who seems to have found his shot) had already scored, and this is how the first period ended. I can deal with that. But then, in the space of just over a minute not quite halfway through the second period, I was motivated to just turn it off and go to bed. Suddenly it was 3-1, and the Wings looked a little off stride. Jimmy Howard was no doubt wondering who but that bigger net behind him when he wasn't looking, and I thought I saw him looking towards the bench, wondering when Mike Babcock was going to wave him off and send in Chris Osgood. Who, by the way, should play a LOT better now that he has the "400" monkey off his back. In any case, there needed to be a spark, or at least a realignment of sorts. It came in the form of a 36 foot slapshot from Nicklas Lidstrom, which perked up the defense, and a goal from Patrick Eaves to close out the second, and reduce this game to a 20 minute free for all. What the Dallas Stars didn't know is that control of the game would now be in the hands of the Red Wings.

In the third, Brad Stuart decided to try his hand at the long slapshot, since he had seen Lidstrom do it. It worked, and the Wings are up by one. Then Kris Draper, not to be outdone, slapped in another. After that it was the Patrick Eaves Show and the Wings win by 4 goals.

Mike Babcock, on Eaves:

"He can shoot the puck and he likes to shoot it. Like anybody who starts scoring, he shoots the puck all the time. Guys that don't score, they never shoot the puck. They just keep passing and wonder why they don't score. I'm glad he's got it figured out."

So basically, if you don't take any shots, you will never score. Right. Thanks Mike. Now you just need to tell some of the guys, like Brian Rafalski (0G, 24A). Yeah yeah, we all know that an assist is just as good for the team, but think about how many games the Wings win if Rafalski and Hudler REALLY start producing...

On Osgood: He now has more wins than a lot of goalies in the Hall of Fame already, and the same number of Stanley Cups as Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, and might (just might) catch Terry Sawchuk. Doubtful though. In any case, his HOF credentials are only stained by the fact that everyone sees only the soft goals and missteps, and not the fantastic performances he has turned in over time. Take Win #400 for example: 49 shots and 46 saves in a game where the rest of the Red Wings were outplayed badly. Ozzie kept them in the game, despite an (arguably) soft goal. He has done this many times, but all anyone remembers is that he let goal in from center ice. So what? The Red Wings actually WON that game you know...