The Wizard of Oz

The Red Wings owe their Game 1 victory in the Stanley Cup finals to their 37-year-old goalie, Chris Osgood. He made 31 saves, while surrendering but one goal. His is a story of an athlete sticking with his team through all the troubles he has had personally, and that the NHL has had. He played his rookie season with Detroit in 1993, and became the regular starter from 1995 to 2001. Here, he earned his nicknames “Ozzie” and “The Wizard of Oz”, compiled 27 shutouts, averaged a 2.36 GAA, and led his team to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998. (In the 1995-96 season, he also became the second goalie in NHL history to score a goal). Then, in 2001 the Red Wings acquired 6-time Vezina trophy winner, Dominik Hašek “The Dominator”, and were forced to release Osgood, where he was picked up by the NY Islanders. From 2001 to 2004, Osgood played for the Islanders and the Blues, unable to duplicate the success he had in Detroit. After the unfortunate lockout of 2004, he once again landed in Detroit, where he faced hardships that included multiple groin injuries, a broken hand, and playing backup to Hašek. Ozzie never quit, determined to once again return as a dominant goaltender in the NHL. At the start of the 2007-08 season, Hašek underperformed, then suffered an injury, giving Osgood the starting job. He took advantage of this opportunity: Ozzie led the NHL with a 2.09 GAA, and was voted to the 2008 All-Star game. The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs was another triumph for Osgood. Hašek started the series, but lost back-to-back games in the opening round, and Osgood was sent in to stop the bleeding. The Red Wings won their next nine games in a row, on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. And here we are again, with Osgood showing the city of Detroit how much of an asset he is to the team, as they battle Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in the 2009 Stanley Cup finals.