OK, I admit it. Wrong again. I was seven for seven in the first round of the playoffs (couldn’t get off the fence on the Penguins-Flyers series), then I went ahead and stayed with Anaheim over Detroit in round two. I did pick the Penguins, Blackhawks, and ‘Canes to advance, but the problem wasn’t that I picked the Ducks over the Red Wings; the real issue is that I stayed with my Detroit is Doomed philosophy in the conference finals, as well. Why? Two words: Chris Osgood.
 
 That’s where I have been so far off base. Count me among those that didn’t believe Osgood (should we start calling him Osgreat?) could flip the switch from such a pedestrian performance during the regular season (save percentage of .887) and become the goalie he’s been thus far in the playoffs. Hey, I know he’s been there and done that. I know he’s just 11 regular-season wins shy of the 400 barrier, and I know he’s being talked about in sentences that include the words Hall of Fame.
 
 But for goodness sake, this is a guy that seemed so disinterested at one point during the regular season that he was told to take a leave of absence to refocus. I’d love to know what he did during those few days away from the team, because it should be bottled and marketed to every goaltender playing the game today. He hasn’t just flipped a switch for the playoffs; he’s recharged his game with enough juice left over to reboot the entire Midwest electrical grid if it should ever fail.
 
 One prevailing theory on Osgood - and I plead guilty for subscribing to it - was that he could give his team adequate goaltending but probably would wither if his team uncharacteristically gave up too many good scoring chances. So far the Wings defensive effort has withered far more often that of Osgood. Heck, you could make the case that the Red Wings are in great position to defend their Stanley Cup championship because of the man they call Ozzie, not in spite of him.
 
 At times in all three series thus far, and certainly no more so than early in the Blackhawks series, he has had to be not just solid but spectacular to get his team where it is. And he absolutely has been all of that, and more. The way he’s playing could he end up with his fourth Stanley Cup ring and first Conn Smythe trophy? Yes and yes. He has truly been the Wizard of Oz in this post-season, and this crow is not tasting good. Not at all.