Osgood got Red Wings rolling
Mike Babcock knows things could be different today. Instead of staring at his reflection in the Stanley Cup, he could be reflecting on how such a promising season went astray.
The Detroit coach made the decision to change starting goaltenders during the playoffs. Babcock rewarded Chris Osgood with the job midway through the opening round, and Osgood rewarded the Red Wings with the NHL championship.
“When you pull your goalie in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, that usually means you’re going fishing in about three days, and not [getting] 14 more wins or whatever we needed to get it done,” Babcock said in Pittsburgh after beating the Penguins in the finals. “You got to give him a lot of credit.”
Truth be told, it was hardly a stretch to replace Dominik Hasek with Osgood. The duo split the crease during the regular season, and their numbers were almost identical. But Hasek was making $1.25 million more than Osgood’s $800,000, and it was the 43-year-old Dominator who was supposed to bring the Cup back to Hockeytown. Switching to Osgood while in a 2-2 series tie with Nashville could have created doubts.
Instead, Osgood helped create history. He was the NHL’s best in the postseason with 14 victories, three shutouts and a 1.55 goals-against average.
He had more than enough help. Nicklas Lidstrom is one of the greatest defensemen ever. Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, ranking first in points (27), goals (13) and short-handed points (five). Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen also reached double figures for goals, while Niklas Kronwall helped anchor a blue line that left forwards befuddled.
“We’ve had the same core group of guys — four, five, six guys — for a lot of years,” said Lidstrom, the Swede who became the first European to captain a champion. “I think that’s been very helpful to keep that core group and add a few players every year.”
The Penguins’ job is to determine how to keep their core intact. Captain Sidney Crosby is just 20 and isn’t going anywhere. But the Pens have more than a dozen unrestricted free agents, including Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik. Plus, young stars Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal reach restricted free agency after next season.
“It’s going to be a challenge for [General Manager] Ray [Shero] this year to keep our team together,” owner Mario Lemieux said. “It’s going to be difficult to make it all work. But there’s been great lessons there. We really built this team to give us a chance to win this. I’m sure we’ll make the right decisions at the right time.”
The Penguins’ rise to Cup challengers has been meteoric. Just two seasons ago, they were 29th in the 30- team league. But the down times allowed them to draft high, and they selected talents such as Crosby, Malkin and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
“We’ve come a long way, that’s for sure,” Crosby said. “But it doesn’t make [losing] any easier.”
The first two games of the finals doomed the Penguins. They were blanked in both to fail into a 2-0 hole. They fell, four games to two.
“Obviously, we were really nervous in our first game,” coach Michel Therrien said. “It’s a lot to demand of those young kids to play in a Stanley Cup final.”
Pittsburgh needs only to look at its superior to see that experience is necessary. Detroit tied the Buffalo Sabres for most points in the NHL last year and won the Presidents’ Trophy the previous two seasons. But they couldn’t get through the Western Conference playoffs.
Once they learned how, they became champs. There’s a parade in Detroit today to prove it.
