Archive for the 'Chris Osgood' CategoryPage 3 of 4

Osgood to start in San Jose; Zetterberg, Lidstrom possibly out

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 17, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Links and Mikael Samuelsson
. 0 Comments

Ansar Khan writes that Chris Osgood will be in net against the Sharks, saying it’s a case of Ozzie being rewarded for playing better than Hasek.

He also reports that Nick Lidstrom (ribs) and Henrik Zetterberg (hip flexor) did not practice Wednesday and are therefore questionable for the San Jose game. He takes Babcock’s word for it when the coach told him he hadn’t really thought about possible lines if Hank can’t go.

If Zetterberg does sit, look for Mikael Samuelsson to return or for the Wings to go with 11 forwards. I doubt they’d call up a Griffin and fly him out to California. If Lidstrom can’t go, we’ll likely see Derek Meech’s regular season debut.

Losing either one of those players to injury would be huge. Losing both would really suck. Hopefully they got the rest they needed to be ready to go. We should find out sometime before the game.

Hasek’s status for Wednesday in doubt

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 9, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries and Links
. 0 Comments

According to Ansar Khan, Dominik Hasek has a bruise above his right knee from a shot he stopped in the third period last night. Dom said he’s not sure if he’ll play Wednesday against the Flames, but it doesn’t sound serious so no worries. Chris Osgood is ready to step in.

4/7 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 7, 2007
in 2006-2007, Avalanche, Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Ducks, Flames, GameDay, Henrik Zetterberg, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi
. 2 Comments

… Since we’re seeing Chicago for the second time in a row, there isn’t much need for a full preview. As far as the things covered in the preview for Thursday’s game, not much has changed, except for the obvious things like the season record (6-0-1 Wings) and the Hawks’ win streak (4 games), etc. Other than that, much is the same, such as Chris Osgood’s status. He’ll be starting, apparently, as Dominik Hasek will sit out with a sore thigh.

The biggest situational difference is the Wings’ place in the standings, which was frozen with Anaheim’s shootout loss to Dallas last night. The Wings will take first place in the West no matter what happens today and tomorrow. The only questions now are who they will play in the first round and whether they’ll claim the top spot overall.

The first question can be answered tonight if the Flames beat Edmonton, which would give them the 8th seed and the opportunity to play the Wings in the first round. If they lose and Colorado beats Nashville in Denver, a major showdown will be setup for tomorrow when the Avs and Calgary make up the game which was canceled due to the blizzard earlier this season. In that case, the winner of that game would take 8th.

As for the second question, it looks like the answer is “no.” The Sabres have two more games and both are against non-playoff teams, as Ansar Khan points out, though they are on the road (Washington and Philadelphia). The Wings can max out at 113 points, but Buffalo can finish as high as 115. In the event of a points tie, Buffalo would win because they’ll have more wins than the Wings in any case. So, forget about the President’s Trophy if you haven’t already. I can’t say I’m disappointed.

The most important thing for the Wings today in this essentially meaningless game is to keep their focus. It would be great for them if they could end the season on a high note and go into the playoffs well, rather than on a losing streak. They don’t seem to flourish in afternoon games, but I’d like to see them show up to play a full game today so that they can get out of the rut they’ve been in lately.

… Helene St. James has some updates on the injuries:

Nick Lidstrom (back) and Todd Bertuzzi (neck) are listed as questionable (”may play”) for today, though they both practiced yesterday. Ted Kulfan, by the way, is a little more positive about Nick and Todd’s chances, saying both are “expected to play.”

Both Dominik Hasek (thigh) and Henrik Zetterberg (back) practiced, and she says they “should be ready for playoffs.” I’d like a little more certainty there, but whatever.

… St. James also has a piece about the Datsyuk signing, which goes over much of what was said at the press conference yesterday and focuses on Steve Yzerman’s role in the whole thing. Lastly, IwoCPO has something to say about that role.

Ansar Khan’s injury update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 12, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dan Cleary, Danny Markov, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Kris Draper, Links, Mathieu Schneider, Pavel Datsyuk, Robert Lang and Todd Bertuzzi
. 0 Comments

Ansar Khan has an injury update posted on his blog. Summary:

  • Chris Osgood will start instead of Dominik Hasek tomorrow night. Hasek was supposed to start both games, but his thigh injury changed that plan. He will play Wednesday night instead and will do the back-to-back games on March 29th in Nashville and March 30th at home against Dallas.
  • Danny Markov (upper body) is slated to be back Saturday against the Canucks.
  • Johan Franzen (upper body) and Dan Cleary (knee sprain) could return on the 20th in Calgary. If so, they’ll miss the March 17th game in Vancouver.
  • Mike Babcock officially said that Henrik Zetterberg (back inflammation) and Todd Bertuzzi (back) will not play until after the Vancouver/Calgary trip. So, a March 22nd debut for Bertuzzi and return for Zetterberg, at the earliest.
  • Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Robert Lang, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider did not take part in the optional practice today, but all will play tomorrow night, according to Mike Babcock.

The injury problems the Wings have been going through should put losses like yesterday’s in perspective. Sure, it was bad, but they’re missing some key players and other guys are either playing hurt or just recovering from injuries. And yet, they’ve been winning more often than not. Once everyone’s healthy, they should play better and more complete games.

3/8 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 8, 2007
in Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Mathieu Schneider, Mikael Samuelsson and Tickets
. 11 Comments

… Ted Kulfan reports today that Dominik Hasek could start tomorrow against LA, not that he will. Ansar Khan, on the other hand, says that Mike Babcock expects Dom and Mikael Samuelsson to play.

So, it’s possible that Hasek will be backing up Chris Osgood, but probably not likely. I’m sure the team would like Dom to get a game in before the home-and-home series with Nashville next week.

… Ted Kulfan also reports that playoff ticket prices will remain just as out of reach for Joe Fan as they were last year:

Regular-season prices from $22-$85 will rise to $63-$144 in the first round, $72-$153 in the second, $99-$270 in the Western Conference finals and $135-$450 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Oh well. What would watching the playoffs be like without Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond’s commentary, anyway?

He says that the team has not announced a sale date to the public yet.

…  In Helene St. James’ Wings Corner daily, Mathieu Schneider and Chris Chelios address the final standings question. Chris Chelios believes that finishing first is important because it secures home-ice advantage,

“I think the biggest thing is if you ever get to a seventh game you’d much rather play at home. I’ve seen that before with Colorado when we blew them out.”

Chris Osgood told Ansar Khan much the same thing, but went on to say that playing well down the stretch is more important than where the team finishes,

“We’re trying to get our guys healthy and be playing well the last month of the season. To worry about what where we finish and who we play, we’ll figure that out when we get there.”

Mathieu Schneider agrees, as he told St. James,

“We’ve said all along, and I’ve come to believe this: We just want to get better as a team …

…. “Where we end up in the standings, we may not have control over that, but we just want to become a better and better playoff team. I think we’ve done that. We’re competing every night. In hard-fought games, we seem to rise to the occasion.”

After the Wings were eliminated in the first round by #8 Edmonton last year, I felt that it might be better for the team to finish in the middle of the pack. I thought that fighting for a playoff spot rather than coasting to the finish would be beneficial, because they’ve run into so many teams that were playing their best hockey down the stretch that their complacency couldn’t overcome it. As this season has gone on, however, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this team’s tenacity and think that finishing 1st wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

However, that’s only because of the tight race with Nashville.  The Predators are making things difficult for the Wings and that’s something new. In previous years, they had the division and the conference virtually in the bag by this point in the season. This year, they’re fourth with four weeks left.

I agree with Chelios that home ice is desirable, but I’m more with Osgood and Schneider on this one. The team needs to focus on playing well, getting healthy, and not becoming complacent or comfortable. If they do that, home ice will be an added benefit, not an excuse.

Home ice will help the team if they had to fight for it and they are already playing well, and even then it’s not the guarantee it used to be. Any team the Wings face is going to be tough, whether they’re playing at home or on the road. That’s why maintaining a top level of play to the end of the regular season is so important.

… Lastly, Ted Kulfan points out that Brett Lebda will not be suspended for his slash on Scott Nichol, which broke a bone in the latter’s hand. Nichol basically said he wanted Lebda suspended after the game, but the League obviously decided it was not a bad enough incident, Nichol’s testimony to the contrary.

I didn’t see the play, so I can only offer my uninformed opinion on it: a malicious slash does seem to be against Lebda’s character so I’m inclined to believe it was accidental.

3/3 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 3, 2007
in Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Game Reports, Hockey Bloggers, Injuries, Jason Williams, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson, Nick Lidstrom, Robert Lang and Tomas Holmstrom
. 4 Comments

Update (10:43 PM): Just a clarification on my last update: Holmstrom’s last shift ended around the 14 minute mark of the third period. I apologize for wording it so ambiguously before. Thanks to Justin for pointing that out.

Also, Ansar Khan informed me via email that neither Robert Lang nor Tomas Holmstrom practiced today. Mike Babcock told him there were no injuries during the game against the Hawks, however. - Matt

Update (6:35 PM): I just remembered something I’d meant to mention earlier: Tomas Holmstrom left the game around the 14 minute mark and didn’t return, as pointed out by the FSN crew, who had noticed he wasn’t on the bench.

I haven’t seen anything indicating he has an injury, so it may have just been a case of Mike Babcock resting his top line, as neither Pavel Datsyuk nor Valtteri Filppula took any shifts from about 16:00 on, after they had helped kill of a penalty with Danny Markov and Nicklas Lidstrom. (via the shift chart) - Matt

So, I got home on the Detroit side of the state last night (for “Spring Break”) at around 2:30 AM after watching the game in Holland, thanks to terrible weather until around Lansing. Then I slept about four hours longer than I meant to, and now I’m way behind the eightball on the day. So, some links to people more on top of things than me, with a little commentary:

… The Wings won last night, 6-2 over Chicago. I watched the game but don’t have a heck of a lot to say about it, except that it’s nice to see the Wings can produce offense without Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. However, as Dave at Gorilla Crouch has pointed out today, the Blackhawks aren’t exactly a Grade “A” opponent, so the jury’s still out.

For a reaction to the game from someone who was there, see Steph’s report at No Pun Intended.

… Jason Williams scored twice on his former team, prompting Mike Babcock to give the quote of the year:

“It’s good to see him score, too. What the heck.”

(via. Abel to Yzerman)

… It looks like the Wings having taken such a vested interest in rejuvenating the second line has awakened Robert Lang, who had four-point night and was as involved in the offense as he’s been all season. The Free Press wins the award for most lame headline today, with their story on the game: “Lang time coming: Center leads Wings past Hawks.”

… Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 200th career goal (finally) in the third period, and Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey was there to cheer him for it.

… The FSN crew made a big deal out of the fact that Jiri Hudler came out for warmups wearing his red helmet last night. Apparently, he was thrown off by the fact that the Wings usually wear red at home, but were wearing white so that the Hawks could use their black jerseys. Ansar Khan reports that Robert Lang finally told him, after the whole team had a good laugh. Jiri scored a nice breakaway goal later in the game, making that the most memorable thing he did last night, rather than than the helmet thing.

… It looks like Chris Osgood will get another start, as Dominik Hasek will not be able to return tomorrow against the Avalanche, according to Ansar Khan. The Wings, needless to say, are taking every precaution with Dom and will not be rushing him back. Khan also says that Chris Chelios will be a game-time decision tomorrow.

… The Free Press reports that Mikael Samuelsson skated yesterday, though not with the team. He’ll still take some time to get back into game-shape so don’t expect to see him too soon.

… Lastly, non-Wings related: James Mirtle has been blogging about the Cam Janssen elbow on Tomas Kaberle last night, a vicious hit which knocked Kaberle unconscious and out of the game. Janssen has been suspended for three games, a verdict with which I wholly agree, as those kinds of hits should have no place in the game. However, it’d be nice if the League were more consistent in dealing out such penalties for those types of hits. A shoulder to the head is about as bad as an elbow, NHL.

Hasek out with tendonitis

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 10, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Danny Markov, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jimmy Howard, Joey MacDonald and Stefan Liv
. 0 Comments

Ansar Khan reports that Dominik Hasek has tendonitis in his right wrist and that he will not play tomorrow against the Flames. Apparently, the belief is that he hurt it while trying to make a poke-check during the Coyotes game on Wednesday. Khan says it’s not broken, but if the pain hasn’t subsided by Monday, Dom may be given a cortisone shot.

Khan only says that Joey MacDonald will be in net tomorrow, but it seems likely to me that Joey may very well play Monday as well since Chris Osgood is not ready to return from his finger injury and neither Jimmy Howard nor Stefan Liv are really NHL-ready. However, one of them will be brought up to fill in as a back-up, at least. We’ll know who it is later tonight after the Griffins’ game against the Iowa Stars.

Well, this is an interesting development. It should be something that can be taken care of, but a wrist problem was the last health issue I ever thought Dom would have.

Also, Bruce MacLeod of the Macomb Daily posted on Hasek’s wrist at Red Wings Central message boards. He didn’t say much of anything different than Khan (except that he and I apparently agree that MacDonald may get two starts), but he has a tidbit on Markov: “Markov skated and felt ok. He won’t play Sunday, but is possible for Monday.”

2/4 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 4, 2007
in Brendan Shanahan, Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jimmy Howard, Jiri Fischer, Mikael Samuelsson, Scott Hartnell and Video
. 2 Comments

… Helene St. James has an interesting piece on Jimmy Howard in today’s edition. Howard, who has been out most of January with an ankle injury, is slated to return Wednesday and will be facing high expectations from management in Detroit. He has a 12-12-1 record when healthy, but the Wings are looking to see how he performs down the stretch as the eight-place Griffins fight for a playoff spot.

St. James touches on an issue that I don’t think has gotten a lot of press here in Detroit: the question of the condition of the team’s goaltending after this season. She writes that the Wings have not ruled out extending Dominik Hasek’s 1-year contract, noting that it depends on his health, his interest in playing, and the team’s performance in the playoffs. However, there’s a good chance Hasek won’t be back next season, and, pending Howard’s performance in the coming months, the Wings may decide he’s ready for the NHL.

Chris Osgood has one year remaining on his contract and would be a good mentor for Howard, so it’s at least possible that the Wings will go with a two-goalie system, with neither goalie having the declared starting job. They would probably like to get a bona fide starter, but given the fact that much of their cap space will be taken up by signing skaters this off-season, that may not be possible.

… Funny story: Chris Chelios badly wanted to fly to Miami to watch his hometown Chicago Bears play the Indianpolis Colts in the Super Bowl, but he didn’t have the nerve to ask Mike Babcock for permission. He considered going through Nick Lidstrom, but decided not to. Considering the Bears haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 21 years (i.e. when Cheli was a Hab), it says a lot that he’s sticking with the team and not looking for special treatment.

So, the team will be watching the game in New York instead and Brendan Shanahan has been invited to watch it with them.

The Freep has the team’s picks for the game here. The concensus seems to be that the Colts will win, though Brett Lebda is pretty confident his hometeam, the Bears, will emerge victorious (whereas Chelios seems pretty fatalistic). Gotta love Hasek’s reason fore picking Indy:

“Colts. I have Colts, so I cheer for them to win. I think Colts by 10. I think their quarterback will be the difference.”

When I first read that, I thought he meant he has horses, but I guess he means he has the Colts in some kind of fantasy league.

… Ansar Khan wrote yesterday that Mikael Samuelsson (broken right foot) is about a week away from returning. He skated through the whole practice yesterday and felt pretty good, though he still has trouble stopping and starting.

… And the video of the day (via Gorilla Crouch):

That warm and fuzzy feeling you’re getting comes from seeing Scott Hartnell get owned (in the crowd). Of course, the focus of the video is the shot in the dark by Moen, which is also heartwarming if you’re a Wings fan.

For old time’s sake, here’s another fight involving Scott Hartnell. It’s one of my favorites.

1/27 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 27, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jimmy Howard, Joey MacDonald, Kris Draper, Mathieu Schneider, Matt Ellis, Matt Hussey, Robert Lang and Valtteri Filppula
. 2 Comments

Ansar Khan reports the following:

… Chris Osgood broke a finger on his right hand during warmups last night and played through it. Apparently, it’s not serious, but it could keep him out of the action for a while.

… Fortunately, both Joey MacDonald and Dominik Hasek, who were down with the flu, are expected to dress tomorrow for the Colorado game. Megan points out that if MacDonald, Hasek, and Osgood end up not being capable of playing tomorrow, the best goalie the Wings have available is Stefan Liv, who will have played two games in a row after tonight (Jimmy Howard is out with an ankle injury). Not a good situation, though I’m sure Dom and Joey will be able to suit up, since they did practice today.

… Kris Draper, Valtteri Filppula and Robert Lang are also expected to be ready to go tomorrow after practicing today. Khan, though, is right to say that Matt Ellis and Matt Hussey should keep their cell phones on because they very well may have to drive out to Detroit tomorrow before the game.

… Apparently, Mathieu Schneider feels “great” and could possibly return tomorrow. Khan says that he’s more likely to sit out one more and return Tuesday, but says Chris Chelios hurt his shoulder in practice and if he can’t go, the Wings might insert Schneider earlier than planned. Chelios finished practice, though, and should play tomorrow.

… Mikael Samuelsson hopes to begin skating in a week, but there’s no further news about when he’ll be back in the lineup.

1/14 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 14, 2007
in Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Mathieu Schneider and Peter Forsberg
. 3 Comments

… I didn’t catch the game, but the Wings won last night, 6-3 over Chicago on goals from Jason Williams (2), Tomas Holmstrom, Danny Markov, Kris Draper, and Robert Lang. Chris Osgood had 33 saves and looked good apparently, though he allowed two weak goals. They play Montreal on Monday.

… Helene St. James has suggestions for the Wings over the second half of the season:

  • “Win the Division” - She’d like to see the Wings avoid playing San Jose or Anaheim in the first round and this is the surest way to do that.
  • “Play Dominik Hasek Less” - I’ve been saying this for a while now.
  • Play Chris Osgood more - She thinks it’s a good idea for Osgood to get more playing so he can get in a rhythm. I agree.
  • “Improve on special teams” - A no-brainer, though the Wings seem to be doing that with every game.
  • Lastly, “Get Peter Forsberg” - Um, what? I would be shocked if this happened. I don’t even know who the Wings would trade for Forsberg, let alone why they’d go after someone so injury-prone, no matter how good he is when healthy. It’s been a Red Wings fan fantasy for years and may be more likely than ever now, but I still have trouble seeing it happen. Maybe if it were a Williams-and-Lilja trade, but otherwise, I can’t see them disrupting the roster just to get a player who could be gone this summer. Forsberg would fulfill their need for a big, strong forward on paper, but how it’d translate to the ice is a big unknown.

… Henrik Zetterberg was the only other Red Wing named to the Western Conference All-Star team. Mathieu Schneider got snubbed again. I’m glad Dominik Hasek didn’t make it because the last thing the Wings need is for him to pull his groin in a fake game. Congratulations to Hank, though!