Osgood, Wings Relish Challenges
Long after Pavel Datsyuk had ignited the Red Wings and they’d rolled ever closer to a repeat championship, Chris Osgood stood in the dressing room without a shirt and started to shiver.
It was late and he was ready to shower and move on, well aware it’s a short trip from hot to cold and cold to hot, as this up-and-down Stanley Cup Finals has proven. While the Wings were impressive in their 5-0 victory in Game 5, the possible clincher Tuesday night won’t be as easy, you can bet on that.
The Wings know it better than anyone, although if they play like they did Saturday night and Datsyuk gains even more strength, they’ll win. And if they do, it can be summed up as Osgood did following their best performance of the playoffs.
“When our team’s challenged, we like it,” he said. “I think we just have the mentality that we like to show people how good we are and what we’re capable of doing when we’re being challenged.”
When they’re being challenged.That’s it right there, the story of the Wings season, the story of Osgood’s season, the story of so many of their players.
The Penguins’ stars are bluebloods all the way through. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was drafted No. 1 overall in 2003. Evgeni Malkin was drafted No. 2 overall in 2004. Sidney Crosby was drafted No. 1 overall in 2005. Jordan Staal was drafted No. 2 overall in 2006.
Lower-round luminaries
That Datsyuk guy who’s a Hart Trophy finalist and had two assists after missing seven games because of a foot injury? A sixth-round selection. That Zetterberg fella who has harassed Crosby into immature frustration? A seventh-round selection.
That scruffy Dan Cleary who scored the first goal of Game 5? His career was teetering until the Wings essentially gave him a preseason tryout four years ago, and he has developed into a scoring force.
And what about Osgood? Once again, in the biggest game of the season, he managed to seize the moment and escape the moment at the same time. He recorded his 15th playoff shutout, fourth in NHL history, stamping him an all-time clutch performer. And yet his sterling 22-save performance was lost in the Datsyuk glory.
Osgood just keeps showing up exactly when needed, like in the first period Saturday night, when the Penguins came out dangerous and Osgood didn’t blink. I don’t know who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Wings wrap this up, but Osgood’s way overdue for ringing affirmation, even if he has stopped craving it. His goals-against average (2.00) and save percentage (.927) are phenomenal.
“I never doubt myself,” Osgood said, and he repeats it every time he’s asked about a career that brought him back to Detroit as a backup, and now he’s a wily leader. “You’ve got to make sure you stay focused on the moment. Whenever you’re up, people seem to think it’s easy, it’s over. And whenever you’re down, they think you’re done. I’ve heard it tons of times, so we’ll just get some rest and be fresh going to Pittsburgh.”
No one has been challenged more than Osgood, 36, who found it difficult to crank up mentally and struggled through a ragged regular season. He doesn’t like to rehash it because it doesn’t matter now, but in a weird way, it prepared him perfectly for now.
Take that, Penguins
The Wings were sloppy while losing twice in Pittsburgh and people questioned their age and energy. I’d call that another challenge. I’d call 5-0 a cool, poignant response.
“It’s not going to be smooth all the time,” Osgood said. “I think that’s good, it teaches you some lessons, makes things tough on you. You have to earn everything you get in this game.”
That’s something the Wings know completely. It’s something the Penguins’ stars can’t possibly know but are learning. It’s something Osgood was reminded of when general manager Ken Holland sat him for 10 days in February to clear his mind. It was then Mike Babcock went to Osgood’s house to chat and Holland called Osgood into his office. In the hourlong conversation, Holland did most of the talking, some of it loudly.
“I told him it was time to get to work,” Holland said. “I told him we had an incredible opportunity, and we weren’t going to win unless he was playing at the top of his game. I know how good he can be. When people are surprised, I never understand it.”
Osgood refers to it as his “wake-up call.” It stirred fans’ old doubts, which Osgood thought were long buried after winning his third Cup.
From humbling comes hunger. One more challenge awaits, and if the Penguins rise up in Game 6 — possible, by the way — the biggest challenge will arrive. It was natural to question the Wings’ readiness after two straight losses. But as Osgood has shown, the Wings usually know where they’re going, and seldom forget where they’ve been.
-Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News
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