Ozzie looks good out of the gate

Training camp for the Red Wings got underway this past weekend up in Traverse City and like always it looks like the Wings have assembled a team that should be a contender once April rolls around. Of the many bright spots that the Wings bring to the table one area that has brought more questions over the years is the goalie position. Some of these questions include should the Wings go out and spend more money on a goaltender, can the team depend on Jimmy Howard as a number one and what will become of Chris Osgood? Time will certainly tell on all of these questions however we might have a good indicator on that third one which is what will become of Chris Osgood? According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press Wings’ veteran goaltender Chris Osgood has been looking pretty solid right out of the gate in Traverse City.
According to James Osgood made 15 saves for Team Lindsay in the first half of Sunday’s scrimmage at Centre Ice to lead it to a 3-1 victory over Team Howe.
“I thought Ozzie had a good session; good for him,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I think that’s important. Any time you’re a veteran player and you’re playing in the league, I think it’s real important to get off to a good start. Obviously Ozzie has committed his summer to doing that, and ideally that will show.”
Osgood also got back on the ice earlier this offseason which he feels has made a difference in his performance so far…
“I feel really good and rested for the first time,” he said, “just because I had time to work out more, get on the ice more, and just rest my body in a better way than I did the two previous years when we went to the finals. I just feel like I’m ahead of the game.”
Osgood, 37 is looking to rebound after a poor 2008-09 season which was salvaged with a solid playoff performance and a 2009-2010 season which saw him loose his starting job to rookie Jimmy Howard. You can also bet that going into this season Mike Babcock will continue with Howard as the starter.
I’ve always been a Osgood supporter and believe that he has gotten the short end of the stick with fans many times during his career here in Detroit. Even though it is early, it’s definitely nice to see Osgood get a good start in training camp especially since he is still a very important factor to this teams success. Howard is still young and the team will need a solid veteran to step in if Howard gets off track.