Do you think Chris Osgood is overrated?

Question

I think playing behind the wings puck possessions team and solid defenceman who hold the other team to 18 weak shots a game i would also have two shutouts

Answer 1

I would say that he is. He faces very few shots per game, and if he lets up a rebound, the Wings defense is right there to get it. I have watched both games in these finals, and hardly ever see the Pens get a rebound.

Osgood is a great goalie, but he is beatable. The Pens need to focus more on getting past the Wings' D. Once they do that, they will start to score.

Answer 2

What about when he started in New York?  He kept the Islanders going when he was there.  Look where they are now.

Answer 3

You're kidding, right?  Have you been watching the same Stanley Cup playoffs series I've been watching?  Osgood has had to come up HUGE on several occasions against every team the Wings have played, and he has done so.  You make it sound like the Wings' opponents have always had to shoot through or around the defensemen (or forwards) in order to get a scoring chance.  Not the case.  The Predators, the Avalanche, the Stars, and yes, even the Penguins have had numerous scoring chances where the only one standing in the way of a goal was the Wings' net-minder.  If Ozzy's success fell completely into the hands of his teammates he wouldn't have the NHL's top goals-against average (and now the NHL's top save percentage).  Face it; Oz is GOOD.

Answer 4

he is good because those 18 shots were good

Answer 5

Nope........if anything he has been underrated.

Answer 6

h**l no!  He is a great goalie and we are lucky to have him.  And he is very thankful to be back with us too.

Answer 7

Yes and no.... He has struggled many times and really has not shown tons of promise until this post-season.  He's looked lazy in a lot of seasons and often looked unfocused.  Because of this  I think that he has deserved NOT being noticed in the past and not being seen as a factor for the Wings.. But what a post-season he has had this year.  Incredible.  I don't expect him to continue it though because he has never shown a lot of consistency.

Bottom line: I don't think the Wings can have a dynasty with Osgood in goal for years to come.  What a post-season he has had though.

Answer 8

It's easy for us to say he's overrated because their defence is so good, but he still has to stop the pucks. Are you aware of how much mental focus is required to make those 18 saves? It's easier for a player to stay focused when they're constantly playing but for a goalie it's really tough...and for a goalie that's only seeing 18 shots in a game, it's extremely tough. If he let's just one of those goals in, Detroit loses a ton of momentum because the players expect him to make those saves, just like he expects his D to not give up too many scoring chances. While I will agree that there are a handful of goalies that you could plug into that team and they'd see success, Osgood was brought in at a tumultuous time and has brought extreme stability to a team when they needed it most.

Answer 9

Then you would to say the same thing about Hasek.  They both had the same amount of wins and goals given up during the season.  Osgood has been an above average goalie his whole career.

Answer 10

Absolutely not. He is what he is. A great goalie. Detroit is happy to have him back. Go Wings!

Answer 11

When Curtis Joseph came from the Leafs to Detroit, everyone thought he was a great goalie.  He choked.  Osgood plays great with the Wings style of play.  He's awesome!  The team and goalie work great together.

Answer 12

i agree, but still, 18 shots a game, even if he lets one in, his save percenage would be high, so does it help him win games, yes, does it take away from the player he is, no

Answer 13

If anything, I'd say he is quite under-rated.  He put up slightly better numbers than Hasek all season long but still wasn't given the starting job until Hasek blew it in the playoffs.  Also, I don't hear anyone really talking about him, despite the fact that he's gone 12-2 in the playoffs.  There's a lot of talk about Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Lidstrom (and there should be), but I still don't really hear anyone talking about Chris Osgood.  It's kind of been like that for his whole career though.

Answer 14

You can't argue with two shutouts.  True, he only had to save 19 shots the first game, and 22 the second, but most goalies would have given up at least two goals in that many shots.

Yes, the Wings have good defense but they didn't stop those 22 shots from getting to Osgood - He had to stop them himself.  Osgood made some pretty kickass saves, you have to admit.

Answer 15

A little bit. I mean, sure, it obviously helps if your team is doing better, but I believe that when the game starts and everything is even, he is still doing well. So, hes still a pretty good goalie, just maybe not as good as everyone says.

Detroit is a better team, but Fleury is an incredible goalie. I mean, it is hard to play well with that much pressure. But if you wonder why the wings only won 3-0 in their last game, its because fleury is keeping the penguins slightly in the game.

Overall, Osgood is overrated, but nothing can bring down the amount of pressure on him every single game in these stanley cup finals.

Answer 16

Personally, I never thought highly of Osgood... I haven't seen him get a whole lot of accolade, either.

I don't know where this is coming from, really... he might have an easier time than some goalies because his team is so good, but I always considered him mediocre and he is far exceeding my expectations.  I'd call him underrated.

Answer 17

I don't really know but one thing i did notice in these playoffs is that your team will not get far in the playoffs if your goalie is better than your defense. When i watched Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary flames and Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks in the first round, I was amazed at the saves they were making, like these guys were spectacular and i would say that they are the best goalies of the NHL.  Only problem is that their respective defensemens could hold a lot of the shots back and because of this they lost to many games that eventually put them out of the playoffs. I would say that Chris Osgood is an ordinary goalie, with a great defensive team sticking with him all the way, and btw, the goalie is always praised as great when any team wins because thats what the winning team will say out of respect.

Answer 18

I don't think he is over rated. In fact he is probably underrated because people keep saying that its the team and not him. Osgood is probably better now then he was 10 years ago. His positioning is better and he relies on his glove a lot less. He used to snap what look like sure goals out of the air with his glove.  Now he is in better position and the same shots are hitting him in the chest. It doesn't look as spectacular but its a more sure way of making the save.  BTW if you or I could record shutouts behind this team, why do you think they hired 2 goalies who they had to pay so much money too, when they could just stick any Joe back there with the same result?

Answer 19

No.

Answer 20

Considering the past 2 games yes...

Don't get me wrong he is great, but not as "godly" as they say...

He doesn't see near as many shots as the opposition, and when there is a rebound the other team is not the one to touch it due to the defense and defensive offensemen...

SO he is good but given a little bit too much credit!

Answer 21

Quite possibly. Who (in all reality ) wouldn't have super numbers as a goalie for the Wings? I'm sure there isn't a goalie in the league (or any other player for that matter) that wouldn't die to play for the Wings....Fleury included/especially)

Still think he is HHOF material however!

Answer 22

So by your way of putting it, I must say Broduer and Roy were just decent goalies, lucky enough to have good teams in front of them too, huh? Osgood put up just as good numbers in NY and St. Louis when he played there. He came to the Isles, and they increased their point total by 40 from the year before. Dont be a hater because I guy is good, and he is not on your team..

Answer 23

Maybe you should go play then!! You seem to have it all figured out LOL

Answer 24

Two back-to-back Final shut outs are overrated? What would be even-rated?

Answer 25

He is underrated actually

Yes, he faces few shots a game, but at the same time, the shots he faces are going to be good scoring chances if they can get past the Wings defense. I don't understand how you would say he is overrated...its not like he is being nominated for the Vezina (although he very well could be). He is rarely talked about until now because its the SCF so there are only 2 teams left to talk about.

Answer 26

Underrated if anything.

Answer 27

Well then maybe you should be playing in the NHL right?

I would say he's underrated, but that's just me

Answer 28

Over-rated no.

He's jsut finally getting his dues.

this guy has put up over 350 carear regular season wins, and has a career GAA below 2.50.  By the time he's done playing he'll be top 10 all-time for victories.  His playoff stats are even better, and he'll more than likely have at least 3 Stanley cup rings if they win this year (2 as the starter) as well.  Yet this guy have never been seriously talked about for the Veznia, has only been to a few all-star games.  I say it's about time and I hope he wins the Conn Smyth adn finally gets his due.

Answer 29

I wouldnt say a guy that is 2 wins (first 2 were shutouts) away from his 3rd cup is overrated. He also leads the most wins for a Wings goalie in the playoffs with 50. Chris is 15th all-time in wins by an NHL goaltender.

Answer 30

I thought hockey was a TEAM sport.

Answer 31

Not overrated, and not really underrated. I think he earns about the right amount of respect.