DETROIT, Michigan -- Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood took a step towards answering his critics Thursday night, stopping 20 of 21 shots in leading the Red Wings to a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game One of their first-round matchup.
In the lead up to the playoffs, Detroit's goaltending tandem of Osgood and Ty Conklin had been named as a prime reason why the Wings might not repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
Osgood started out strong, stopping 13 first-period shots as the Red Wings were shorthanded four times, including a brief five-on-three.
Jiri Hudler opened the scoring for Detroit 48 seconds past the game's midway point, taking a feed from Valtteri Filppula for a tap-in on a two-on-one.
Just 52 seconds later, RJ Umberger tied the game on a backhander when he was left alone in front of the net.
Rookie Jonathan Ericsson, making his first career playoff appearance, put the Red Wings back out in front with 5:39 left in the second. Ericsson fired a shot from the right point and Columbus' Manny Malhotra attempted to glove it out of the air. Malhotra only got a piece of the puck and deflected it past goalie Steve Mason.
Niklas Kronwall's power play goal 48 seconds later was also a deflection on a shot from the point. Kronwall's blast bounced off of Jan Hejda's hip and through a Johan Franzen screen to get past Mason.
Franzen added a goal of his own 2:54 into the third, stuffing the puck in from the side of the net.
After the frantic first period, Osgood faced only eight shots for the remainder of the game. Mason faced 34 shots on the night, stopping 30 of them.
The Red Wings went one-for-four on the power play while the Blue Jackets were scoreless on five power play tries.
Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the two teams will be Saturday at Joe Louis Arena.
Notes: The Red Wings were without Kris Draper, who will also miss Game Two of the series.
Here, here! 
(Or is it hear, hear? I'm not too familiar with that phrase!
You said intarwebs, haha.
I wore my jersey today for extra luck, so I hope the underdog doesn't see through!
Had a tough time picking which jersey might be good luck today. Decided to bring back the spirits of last spring with my Zetterberg 2008 SCF jersey.
Actual pregame notes...
As previously mentioned this week, Kris Draper is out tonight and will miss the first two games of the series before being re-evaluated. Darren Helm takes his spot centering the fourth line.
Dan Cleary, after being banged up in practice on Monday, is ready to go tonight. As such, Ville Leino was sent back to Grand Rapids to gear up for the Griffins' first round matchup against Hamilton.
Jonathan Ericsson remains on the blueline while Andreas Lilja recovers but I suspect Mike Babcock won't hesitate to go to Chris Chelios to replace either Ericsson or Brett Lebda if things start to go poorly.
Early giveaway, not the way to start this series.
Datsyuk to Boll: "I will break you."
Cleary hurt. Goddamnit.
Cleary back. Good.
Ozzie out and challenging. He's confident.
Holmstrom getting his ass kicked at one end of the ice, then the Ozzie with the huge save at the other end.
Jeez, hardly any 5 on 5 time so far. Osgood's been solid.
Osgood's been a badass so far. I can't believe how much Homer's getting knocked down without any calls. There has to be *something* the refs will call in Detroit's favor.
Another Columbus chance off a giveaway in the Detroit zone. Ugh.
Bad call goes in Detroit's favor. I hate it but I'll take it.
Oompa loompa! Nice feed from Fil, too.
Hudler on the 2 on 1. He'll have some of that.
Jesus mother f*cking Christ. Wings let up again and leave a guy standing in the f*cking crease.
Oh.
Six feet, five inches of playoff goal! The midget and the giant.
Back in front. Now keep it.
PPG! Kronner puts the puck on net and another deflection.
What a bullet by Kronwall.
Holy Christ, the Wings are playing well tonight. They flipped the switch.
Holy Christ, the Wings are playing well tonight. They flipped the switch.
It's the luck of my jersey, lmao. 
It helped me ace my exams! Last tri!
They are playing well, happy to see them get the lead on Mason, who has been making some great saves tonight! Same for Osgood, too.
Franzenstein! That was cool. And kinda crazy.
Johan Motherf*cking Franzen!
Franzen + Playoffs = Goal
Franzen + Playoffs = Goal
Someone needs to make one of those 'demotivational posters' like that. I think I will get on that later!
And I do not like that call!
And this one's in the bag.
One down, bitches!
That was silly, woooooow. XD
How much time did they even get back?
awh, crap. Boston just won against Montreal |:
"Okay, now they win it." Ha!
Take two for the finish. Good solid start to the series.
Osgood is cocky tonight. Keating just asked him if he felt relieved and he said something like "No, I don't doubt myself, people who don't know me doubt me."
Fantastic.
Looks like Osgood flipped the switch too. Could have easily been down by a couple early in the game.
Wonder if Holmstrom will practice shooting from a sitting position?
At one point I had to switch over to Blazing Saddles to relieve some tension. "Rarry!!!"
With the nice weather and all, I forgot my windows were open. Think the neighbors closed theirs after I exclaimed, "Gosh! Holmstrom sure is getting dumped a lot!"
... or words ending in a hard K, with similar connotations.
The full Osgood quote, because it's badass...
I don't doubt myself ever. People that don't know me do. I've played for 15 years. I have the most wins in Red Wings playoff history for a reason, not because I'm a bad goalie.
The full Osgood quote, because it's badass...
Try arrogant? It was a little too much c*ck of the walk for me.
LMAO. I was talking about the rooster kind, how is that censored? XD
Chris Osgood
Credit: Clark Rasmussen
Comment on this Article
You must be logged in to add your comment.