[Gwenny]

Originally Posted by Skeeter

That was an intense finish. The Penguins deserve a lot of credit for fighting back in this series.

Definitely... I was thinking after game three it would be done relatively soonish. They really would not go away. It was quite annoying as a redwings fan....

Originally Posted by bowstaff981

Stupid Redwings... the penguins almost had it with one second left!!!

I was definitely sweating bullets, especially after that darn triple overtime game on Monday nighit. Thankfully Osgood saved it for us.

Osgood is a beast. He's my second favorite player of all time, behind Shanahan (who now plays for the Rangers).

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by luvinjesus

Definitely... I was thinking after game three it would be done relatively soonish. They really would not go away. It was quite annoying as a redwings fan....

It was very entertaining as a hockey fan.

I was definitely sweating bullets, especially after that darn triple overtime game on Monday nighit. Thankfully Osgood saved it for us.

Osgood is a beast. He's my second favorite player of all time, behind Shanahan (who now plays for the Rangers).

Osgood is hopefully going to get some of the respect that he deserves after his playoff performance.

[Art]

Osgood was good, I thought Pittsburgh's goalie was better. He kept them in the series. In game 5, he was the reason they won.

Good games. I really enjoyed this one.

[Gwenny]

Originally Posted by Art

Osgood was good, I thought Pittsburgh's goalie was better. He kept them in the series. In game 5, he was the reason they won.

Good games. I really enjoyed this one.

Right, because two shutouts in a finals isn't as good as "keeping a team in it". Whatever.
Osgood was the best goalie in the league for the season.

[Art]

Originally Posted by luvinjesus

Right, because two shutouts in a finals isn't as good as "keeping a team in it". Whatever.
Osgood was the best goalie in the league for the season.

I think Nabokov was just as good.

Just because a team wins doesn't mean all of their players were better. Osgood was very good. I just happen to think that Fleury was better. If Fleury was playing behind Detroit's defense, I think Pittsburgh has a shot at winning the cup. Look how many shots Detroit got vs how many Pitt got. Huge difference.

[Gwenny]

Originally Posted by Art

I think Nabokov was just as good.

Just because a team wins doesn't mean all of their players were better. Osgood was very good. I just happen to think that Fleury was better. If Fleury was playing behind Detroit's defense, I think Pittsburgh has a shot at winning the cup. Look how many shots Detroit got vs how many Pitt got. Huge difference.

His stats were the best in the league. Stats don't lie. He had the best save percentage of everyone in the league and that means something. I don't care that he plays for obviously the most hated team in the league, he deserves respect for his talents. I hate the Avalanche with a passion of a 1,000 burning suns but at least I will admit that Wah was one of the best goalies ever.
Osgood has won three stanley cups, and that means he is good. And I think he was better than Fleury by a long shot. Nabakov was good, but I can't see how anyone can diss Osgood's talent considering he holds the record for the league. He has been underrated since he became a starting goalie and even this season he by far surpassed Hasek's talent and still people scoffed at his starting the playoff run, and this was with him leading Hasek's stats and the stat's in the leauge. Osgood is a great goalie and in my opinion go down as one of the best and he will be a hall of famer if he continues as he has done this year. Maybe then people will actually recognize his talent and quit bashing him just because he "plays for the redwings."

[Skeeter]

Gwen, Art is not bashing Osgood. Even if he was, it's not because he hates the Red Wings. And Detroit is nowhere near the most hated team in the league. That "honor" should probably go to the Maple Leafs and the Rangers.

Osgood is fantastic and has been one of the most underrated goalies in the NHL. However, he also happened to play for the team with the best defense in the league. Detroit allowed the fewest shots per game in the entire league. Not only that, but the vast majority of the shots that Detroit's defense allows are from the outside. Because of their solid defense, Osgood's job was a lot easier than if he had been playing behind a defense with more holes in it, such as the Kings, Panthers, or Thrashers, and his stats would simply not be as good.

Don't get me wrong, he was definitely one of the top goalies of the year and deserves a lot of respect, especially given how he completely changed his style of play to a more butterfly-style, but other goalies in the league, such as Nabokov, Fleury, Turco, Giguere, Lundqvist, Leclaire, and even Tim Thomas (I love Tim Thomas) had great years. Heck, Dan Ellis had a fantastic season, posting the best save percentage in the regular season as a rookie for one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL! I don't think you can simply say that Osgood was the best goalie. While he did have the best GAA in the regular season, Dan Ellis had the best save percentage. Heck, if you look at the total saves, Tomas Vokoun made 2033 saves in 69 games this season. That's almost 30 saves per game. His save percentage was .919. If he was playing on a half-decent team (the NHL should not be in Florida), he would most likely be a star and in the running for the Vezina.

[monkeysmile]

Speaking of goalies, Backstrom could have been better for the Wild. He wasn't bad by any means, but he played better his first year.

PS-

Osgood was 16th is save%...that's hardly best.

[Art]

Believe me, I'm not hating on Osgood. I love Osgood. But as Dan said, he was playing behind the best defense. Fleury wasn't. Nabby wasn't. Heck, the Shark's defense wasn't even GOOD in the playoffs, much less great.