After his team was defeated 4-3 in overtime and fell behind 3-0 in their series against the San Jose Sharks, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock seemed confused and disoriented as he explained to reporters that Tim Cheveldae needs to step up his play in the series. “Our goaltending has really let us down in this series. That third goal by Couture tonight is one that Chevy needs to save,” said Babcock referring to the early 90′s Wings goaltender who spent six uninspiring seasons in Detroit.
Babcock has enjoyed a whirlwind season, a season which included leading Canada to a gold medal in the pressure packed Vanouver Olympics. With the mighty Red Wings on the verge of seeing their dominance of the Western Conference finally coming to an end, the pressure may finally be taking its toll on Babcock. “I don’t know what to say really. Cheveldae was terrific for us all season. He stepped into the fire when we were struggling and turned himself into a nominee for the Calder trophy,” said the confused Wings coach, mistaking Cheveldae for current Wings rookie goalie Jimmy Howard. “Hopefully Chevy can get his game back to where we need it to be and who knows, maybe we can win the next couple games and get back into this thing. One thing is for certain though, we can’t win without a better effort from the Chev.”
When it was explained to him that Howard, not Cheveldae was the Wings starting goalie, Babcock nodded his head yes and stated “Yep, we’re going back to Timmy in game 4. He’s been our guy all year and we are confident that he can get the job done”
