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Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard is among the league leaders in wins and goals-against average.

When Howard's season debut was a flop in Europe, Osgood was one of his loudest defenders in a sea of critics. And let's not forget, there were plenty.

"I didn't like (Howard)," admits one NHL scout. "I didn't like him in the minors, but he's played better in the NHL than he did in the minors."

But Osgood was insistent. Howard is going to be good. Really good.

"I was constantly telling people that," Osgood said.

He was right. And now, the success comes at Osgood's expense.

That's the other hand and it pulled at Osgood. This isn't how he envisioned his career winding down. At 37 years old, he has achievements he still wants to accomplish. He's coming off a season in which he was one playoff win away from a Conn Smythe Trophy — he was that good in the 2009 playoffs.

That wasn't that long ago. The extended trip to the bench wasn't supposed to happen this quickly.

"You have to figure it out, sometimes it's tough," Osgood said. "I've definitely wrestled with it a lot … I've come to the conclusion that you can't push it one way or the other. You have to let things happen. That's how you finish the right way."

It's a balancing act. But if Osgood is going to lean one way, it's going to be toward the side of helping a young teammate.

"I don't think if you're a bad guy, things ever turn out the right way," Osgood said.

This is still a playoff team in Detroit, but the days of shuffling lines and roles just to see how players respond are gone. Every win is huge. Every point is huge.

Babcock is riding the hot goalie, but at some point he'll have to make a decision. Can you let the playoff-tested veteran grow stale on the bench? Because that's exactly what's happening.

"You have to play, obviously," Osgood said. "You have to get games to play and get in that rhythm."

Howard is in that rhythm. At some point, they're going to need Osgood there too.

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