Red Wings 4, Avalanche 3 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• First of all: congrats to the old man on win #400 tonight. You kids stay off his lawn now, you hear?
• This game was a tale of two Ozzies. The second goal he gave up in the first period was incredibly typical of his play for the last two seasons. Then, he somehow found another gear and played like a crazy man for the rest of the game, looking like he did back in the '09 playoffs.
• I loved the celebration after the game. I especially loved the fact that Draper was the first one out to congratulate the old man.
• As those of you in the twitter crowd know, Jenn Ho caught Ozzie drinking a Pepsi during practice on the first day of training camp this fall. I don't think it's a coincidence that he played like that in the Pepsi Center.
• So that Jiri Hudler guy scored a goal. I'm not sure what's up with that.
• During an interview, he referred to Tomas Holmstrom as a “Swedish Terminator.” I loved it. I loved it a lot.
• How about the powerplay tonight? It was absolutely lethal.
• Did the Wings even touch the puck during the second period? It's been a while since I've seen them get worked over like that. Ozzie absolutely stole the game for them during that stretch. He was especially spectacular during the 5-on-3 kill.
• Toward the end of the game, the Wings fans in attendance got a couple of, “Ozzie! Ozzie!” chants going. I want to track each and every one of them down and hug them. Way to represent Hockeytown.
• That late-game tying goal was oh-so-reminiscent of the game against Dallas. I was crushed. I was sure the Wings were going to blow it for Ozzie. Luckily, the Wings got a powerplay late in OT and were able to salvage the victory for him.
• I'm not normally one to talk to my TV and try to vicariously coach the players (the playoffs being the obvious and understandable exception, of course), but this game had me mumbling things about shooting lanes and making shots count during OT.
• Jan Mursak wasn't terribly noticeable, which is good for a rookie making his NHL debut. The one thing (other than the penalty he took) that stood out was when he hustled back to negate a break for the Avs. It was a small play, but it stood out in my mind.
• How many times over the course of your Wings fandom has there been an odd-man rush against the Wings that's caused you to panic until that glorious moment when you realize that Nick Lidstrom is the man back? As soon as you see TPH back there, it seems like the odds are suddenly stacked in the Wings' favor, despite being outnumbered on the rush. Please don't ever leave us, Nick.

Hero: Chris Osgood
The old man stole the show tonight. It would've been good form to make him the hero on the night of his 400th win as a congratulatory measure, but this honor (Oh look, I've gone and developed an exaggerated sense of self-importance.) was earned, not given out of a sense of decorum. I want to see more of this edition of Ozzie.

Villain: Matt Duchene
He opened the scoring for the Avs in the first period, and then almost ruined the game by tying it up late in the third.

Final Thought:
Even the most die hard of Ozzie haters has to feel good for the guy tonight. It's been a long time coming.