The National Hockey League is filled with great talent between the pipes, and you may argue who is the best goalie, whether it be Brodeur from New Jersey, DiPietro from the Islanders, Lundqvuist from the Rangers, or Miller from the Sabres in the East; or San Jose's Nabokov, Anaheim's Giguere, or Hasek from the Red Wings in the West, but theres' no doubt as to who the best goaltending tandem in the NHL is: Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings.
Since they split their playing time fairly even in Detroit, it's tough for either one of them to be on the league leader's list for wins, but they both have impressive numbers, with Osgood boasting a 23-7 record in 33 games, and Hasek's record standing at 19-7 in 30 games.
But what's even more outstanding is that the two netminders are currently ranked first and second in the league in the goals-against-average department, and that stat is a truer measuring bar because the amount of games played does not affect the statistic.
Hasek is ranked No. 1 in the league with a 2.07 goals against, while Osgood stands in the two-hole at 2.11.
Obviously they have a lot of help from their amazing defensemen, namely veterans Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, and Brian Rafalski, but yet these stats show that Hasek and Osgood are still on top of their games.
Some people thought that Hasek may have been done when he retired a couple of years ago, and even more thought that Osgood's best days were behind him when he left the Motor City for Long Island.
Osgood has some incredibly impressive career numbers, as well. This season, he owns a GAA of 2.11, and if it holds up it would be the best of his career.
Also, Osgood, now in his 14th NHL campaign, has never had a GAA higher than 2.86 in any season he has played. His goals-against has been below 2.4 in three of his last four years, and his 23 wins this season is the most for Osgood since he won 31 for the St. Louis Blues in the 2003-'04 season.
He's been a little shaky since the All-Star break, but I would expect Chris Osgood to return to the form that he has been showing all season long.
As for Hasek, what more needs to be said about a man who has more than 380 career wins, 80 shutouts, and a career goals-against of 2.20.
And this season, with his GAA at 2.07, Hasek is making a statement that he has not lost a step and he plans to be around for a while.
There's an old saying in hockey that a goalie that gets hot in the playoffs can be ridden to a championship. Many teams have a good goalie, even a great one. Some even have a formidable backup. But no team has the 1-2 punch that the Red Wings have, and that can be scary for the rest of the NHL come April and May.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment