Great Goalie's scouting report on Ozzie
Great Goalies [the magazine] picked Chris as number 10 of the top 25 starting goaltenders. Read on to see their scouting report and gradings for him. The letter grade appears after each minor detail on his game.
GREATEST VICTORY: Osgood makes 30 saves in Game 4 of the 1998 finals as the Red Wings defeat the Capitals 4 - 1 and win their second straight Stanley Cup.
WORST DEFEAT: May 29, 1996. A 4- victory by the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals ends the Wing’s Stanley Cup dreams.
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: He’s great with the stick and loves trying for the open net at the other end of the ice.
GLOVE: Osgood, a lefty catcher, has such an outstanding glove hand that he sometimes relies too heavily on the glove cheating to the blocker side, giving the shooter a larger target on the glove side, then taking it away just as quickly.
A
STICKWORK: One of the best stickhandlers among the goalies in the NHL, Ozzie became the second goaltende in NHL history to be credited with scoring a goal when he scored on March 6, 1996, against Hartford. Ozzie can stop dump-ins, settle the puck, and start the offense. He’ll also use his stick for pokechecks and to block the cross-crease passes. Ozzie helps himself.
A
QUICKNESS/REFELEXES ON his worst nights, Ozzie stays too far back in the net and relies on his outstanding reflexes. On his best nights, he comes out of the net and cuts down on angles. But Ozzie is at heart, a reflex goalie who relies on reaction and quickness. He is one of the hardest goalies to beat from the high slot in.
A
FIVE-HOLE: Because he stays on his feet so well, Ozzie manages to keep the five-hole closed. He is most vulnerable to low shots on both sides.
B
POSISTIONING: Stays on his feet amazingly well for a goalie that stays so far back in his net and knows how to make himself look big. But Ozzie occasionally loses his angle on long shots -remember last year’s playoffs, when he gave up several soft goals - and sometimes doesn’t get his knees in front of long bouncers.
B
EAST-WEST There was a time when Osgood looked like a nervous goalie who moved too much and was trying to avoid the puck. Now Osgood moves smoothly across the crease, keeping his stick blade on the ice and his legs square. Difficult to beat on the wraparounds.
B
REBOUNDS: does a good job controlling rebounds. What he doesn’t control his diligent Red Wings defenders take care of. Osgood isn’t beaten too often on second chances; the Wings don’t allow many second chances.
B
THE MENTAL GAME: Now that Osgood has won the Stanley Cup, it’s hard to criticize his mental approach to the game. He’ s improved steadily, didn’t get too down when Mike Vernon left him on the bench during the Wings’ 1997 cup run, and stepped up last season when he got his chance. Yet, let’s face it, there aren’t too many goalies the Wings wouldn’t have won the Cup with last season. And Osgood allowed too many soft goals. A weaker team might not have overcome Osgood’s lapses.
C
