Playoff Goaltending Review

June 10, 2008 2:00pm CDT

In the press conference after the Stanley Cup clinching Game 6, Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said, "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." Instead, Chris Osgood will have his name etched alongside the rest of the Stanley Cup Champions after helping to right the ship in Detroit and lead the newly crowned champions through 14 grueling wins.

No one expected this. Sure, the Red Wings were the prohibitive favorite going into the playoffs, but no one expected Osgood to be the man that led the team to victory. It was in Game 4 of the first-round series with the Nashville Predators that everything changed. Dominik Hasek had started all four games, but he had just allowed the third goal against courtesy of Greg de Vries in only the 27th minute of play. Babcock decided now was the time to pull the trigger and Osgood made his way onto the ice. Little did he know that he wouldn't see the bench again. He would go on to shut down the Predators completely, stopping all 13 shots he faced, and while Detroit still lost the game 3-2, a new starter had just taken the reigns. Forty-nine days and 17 games later, here we are watching the Red Wings celebrate for the fourth time in 11 years, tying them with the San Antonio Spurs for the most championships over that span in the four major American professional leagues (NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB).

In playoff fantasy hockey leagues, Osgood put goaltending on lockdown. He posted a ridiculous 1.55 GAA and .930 SV% while snagging three shutouts. In the Stanley Cup Finals, Osgood was able to improve by dropping his GAA to 1.47 and maintaining his .930 SV%. Osgood finished the playoffs with a 14-4-0 record to boot. What might be his most impressive stat, however, was his dominant play after a loss. Osgood always pumped out a strong effort to keep the Red Wings from losing momentum, evident in his 3-1 record and .937 SV%, which includes the Stanley Cup clincher.

Game 6 may not have been Osgood's best performance, but it was his typical, everyday solid outing that Red Wings fans have come to know and love. He stopped 20-of-22 shots from the Pittsburgh Penguins despite giving up a goal to Marian Hossa with 1:27 remaining in the third period. With shades of Game 5 looming in the heads of Red Wings fans, Osgood made a sprawling stop with mere seconds remaining in regulation to end the game, triggering the championship celebration. In a post-game interview when asked about the frantic finish, Osgood said "with 10 seconds left they broke a 2-on-1 and I thought 'oh my God' and that I was going to slap (Jiri) Hudler across the head. Always to the bitter end though, we never make it easy for ourselves but we manage to pull it off."

On the other end of the ice sat the 23-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury. The former first overall draft pick, who until this year many thought may never live up to the potential that he had once shown. The Pittsburgh fans showed their appreciation to the young net minder after the game had ended by filling the Mellon Arena with chants of "Fleury! Fleury!" while the teams shook hands at center ice. He was deserving of every bit of the cheers, as well. Since he returned to action at the end of February, Fleury posted an astonishing 24-7-1 record that included a 1.83 GAA in 32 starts.

The 2008 playoffs was really a big coming out party for Fleury. He posted a 1.96 GAA, .933 SV% and three shutouts. He won 11-of-12 at one point en route to the complete demolishing of Ottawa and New York. However, it was his 55-save performance in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals that will go down in Pittsburgh history as one of the franchise's greatest goaltending performances of all-time. It was his breakout moment. It was the moment that all fans wait for their goaltenders to achieve. Pittsburgh fans now know that they have a goaltender that will push it to the nth degree. Unfortunately, this moment comes without a championship.

Fleury will be reliving the third goal he allowed (which ended up being the game winner for Detroit) for quite some time. After making the initial save, the puck squeaked through Fleury's five-hole and came to rest just beyond his skates. In an effort to lay on top of it, Fleury accidently knocked the puck into the net. It was a mistake that we see made countless times throughout the season, but it is always a tougher break to see that happen in the closing period of the Stanley Cup Finals.

After falling into a quick 2-0 hole to Detroit in the series, a hole which was emphasized by the fact that the Penguins had yet to score a single goal, the Stanley Cup Finals looked to be a mere formality. All the credit in the world has to go to Pittsburgh for righting the ship and making this finals one to watch. Pittsburgh actually kept even with Detroit as they each scored 10 goals over the final four games, but falling into the quick two-game hole proved to be just too much to overcome. This Pittsburgh team, should they be able to maintain their nucleus, will be around for quite some time. Sometimes teams don't know how important these chances are until they allow them to slip through their grasp. Pittsburgh will be back, and the next time, they will have the bitter taste of a missed opportunity on their side.

So congratulations go out to the Detroit Red Wings. They were the best team in the regular season, they played the best hockey in the postseason, and they brought home Lord Stanley's Cup. Not always do those three things correspond, but this year it all worked out. It is nice to see the self proclaimed "Hockey Town" bring back the title. With this, the 2007-2008 fantasy hockey season comes to an end, but hey, don't worry. Next year is only a few months away.