T.Low

The forward lines that Babcock has settled on at this point: 1st line consists of all Europeans; 2nd all Euros, 3rd all North American boys, 4th all N.A. boys. Not pointing out who is 1st or who is 4th lines, rather that they are all one or all the other. I'm not asking if he is doing it on purpose. And yes the lines were great swithced up a little differently a short while ago. I'm asking if you guys think it is coincidence that the line chemistry seems optimal this way, or is there more to it than that? Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Hudler-Filppula-Franzen Bertuzzi-Modano-Cleary Abdelkader-Helm-Miller Maybe some of you guys that have played Juniors maybe with some Euros or even guys from across the country can chime in with an observation or two about how a player's background and culture helps shape the type of player he becomes, his hockey sense, his style, the way he sees the ice and the way he sees plays developing, etc The social scientist in me would like to think there is more to it than just coincedence.

This aint a GDT; it's a blueadams line thread! Where the hell did those lines come from? Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Franzen Cleary-Modano-Bertuzzi Hudler-Filppula-Abdelkader Miller-Helm-Holmstrom Eaves scratched ZDF could really go off! Hopefuly Hudler will get an easy one on the back of Filp and Abby's hard work.

I think you mean to say Cleary still has jump, hunger and grit, even though he has a cup already. I see that too. He plays like a dog that has lost his bone to another dog and he wants it back big time.

And he went to a Tieger's game with Mich Albomb, Nick Lindstrom, and Barrie Saunders. I don't even like the virtual ads on the end glass (and I'm in sales!) On the one hand I can dismiss the jersey ads if it's just on practice jersey's; on the other hand the slippery slope theory keeps lurking right around the corner. The ad fest in European "Hokey" definitely diminishes the quality of the game experience for me. Although I actually like the overwhelming advertising in NASCAR (it's a totally different culture and has heritage and roots in racing and I think it's part of the whole experience where as in hockey it is distracting from the experience), I too would really hate to see the NHL end up anywhere close to NASCAR.

Thanks for reminding how fortunate I am to live near Vancouver. I probably hear more Wings talk on the radio than if I were still back in Detroit. The Team 1040 am talks hockey all the time. And they don't talk loud and obnoxious, ESPN style, tryinig to use big hockey words and name drop, trying too hard to show they know something abuot hockey. No, listenning to these guys talk hockey is like sitting around the BBQ drinking beer listenning to your uncles and cousins talk about your dad. I't real down to earth, just great to listen to. You always get the inside scoop, always feel like you hanging out with guys who were there, who lived it and breathed it. You get to hear a lot players talk, and a lot of veterans. Even in July, they are talking about prospects and trades and salaries and lines and holes that need to be filled, and the game in general, and ripping on Bettman. Hell, I still remember waking up to my alarm set to the Team 1040 back in '02 and at 6:30 am they were talking about the differences between Bobby Hull and Brett Hull. They have Kenny Holland on every time the Wings visit Detroit and they absolutely love him, and love interviewing him. They have commented before on how he is such a better interview than Gillis, Nonis, or Burkey ever was. They are always talking about what a joy it is to cover the Canuck Wings games because of the flow and end to end action of the games and the skill levels on display. Ray Ferrero is always on and he always has great things to say about Detroit regarding their franchise model being the epitome of what an organization should strive to be (another reason I was excited for the Wings to land Landon Ferrero). The Nucks (like every frikin team in the league) always get up for Detroit games.

In my opinion, CLeary personifies the best in the Canadian player: His heart and soul he gives to hockey, his bond with his teammates, his work ethic, his determination and tenacity on the ice, he's a contributor and a producer, and he lets his actions say it all, he does not say or do stupid things on or off the ice. He's a man's man and a player's player. C'mon, the guy challenged Pronger to a fight for God's sakes, I don't care what you think of Pronger, that takes a helluva a lot of courage. After the game the other night on Red Wings Live interview, Bertuzzi said what I've thought all along: "Clears has a very underrated set of hands" and eluded to his puck skills and finish ability. Last year in the Cleary bashing thread, I posted that he could do it all. and gave examples of why he can play on any of the lines 1 through four. Last night Mickey Redmond said the smae thing. Dan CLeary is a complete player. If somebody does a highlight video of him, it could include him excelling at every aspect of the game.

Excellent insights, thanks.

It's hard to argue against the BFF line thats for damn sure. But Bert and Clears really got something going on and it seems to be a good fit for Modano; his numbers are going to jump up a little soon. BErtuzzi has a real talent for getting the puck to the guy going to the net and CLeary crashes the net as hard as any Wing. Those guys really seem comfortable with each other and being just south of Vancouver, I've watched Bertuzzi for the last 13 years; I've never seen him so comfortable on the ice and in front of the press. He is really happy in Detroit. And Filp seems to be doing enough work to get both Huds and Franzen some scoring chances.

Sweet little vid, thanks for posting it. I had the Team 1040 on as I was working and heard about Avery in the tunnel getting chase by ? opposition...that was Edmonton or tonite against Pittsburgh? Already been posted on LGW and I missed it? Que paso?

Cheer up. It has always been one of my pet peeves as well. But now that I have finally been dragged onto the computer like everyone else (my wife says that I am the last guy to graduate UofM without using a computer) I have found that the little motor skills ivolved in typing have turned me into a grammatical moron. I have never had problems with "your" and "you're" until I began typing, and now that is the only place it ever shows up. I consistantly type "myself" as "myslef", "about" as "aobut" and for some reason, while my head knows that it is "you're", my fingers type out "your". I hoenstly think it gets lost in the motorskill translation. I play the drums, ride downhill mountainbikes, ride dirtbikes, white water kayak, play hockey as well as other skill based sports, but typing can be a challenge. Moral of my post: Let the grammatical errors go, but nail him for the incompetent, hot head, grudge baring, duplistic, moron that he is. Edit: A Bulls***ter knows bulls*** when he (I) sees it: 5:50 mark McLean puts Coly on the spot and Coly pulls the old "Truth and Redirect" play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaNNvFCm9XE

I agree with all of the above (duh), except of course the statement that is in bold. My position is just an observation. Unfortunately I'm not joking when I say your scoring forward hasn't yet scored a goal this year.

Yawn. What makes a scoring forward a scoring forward? Scoring. When is a scoring forward not a scoring forward? When he's not scoring. When he's neck and neck in points with the 3rd pairing Dmen.

Agreed. So he looked ok against Edmonton. Edmonton would have gotten their clock cleaned in the KHL last nite. Heck, given that kind of time behind the net, Joanne Hull could have made that pass to Cleary while she was knitting Christmas stockings for The Golden Brett's kids. And frankly, you could have put my wife and I in Red Wing jersey's last nite and we could have held our own against Edmonton. They were tired and they were beaten before they ever stepped onto the ice. Early in the 2nd period my wife said the Oil looked like they didn't want to be out on the ice at all: looked like they'd rather go get a root canal or anything instead of chasing the Red Wings around all nite. (Perfectly exemplified by Dustin Penner lying on the ice physically and emotionally drained after Datsyuk stole his Mojo.) Lots of other guys on this team contribute to Red Wing's victory in many ways that Hudler cannot; He must produce goals. The Detroit score sheet must say "Happy Hudler was here". Jiri Hudler must provide goals for the Red Wings or he is taking up valuable ice time.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. This is what it's all about. Yes it would be awesome for Smith to get some time with Lidstrom and maybe he still will, but it's very important to for the guy to development the mindset of a team leader, a go to guy, playing the important minutes. One step at a time; too soon and he may never develop.

Jack Johnson is anti manufacturing; would not go over well in Detroit.

While Hudler is not my "whipping boy", I certainly am disappointed with his lack of production so far and the fact that he looks a little lost, and half step behind, and late for the play too often. Not happy with Hudler.

I do too. He looks like a guy enjoying himself too much to stop now. Even after hoisting for the 5th time next summer, I think he'll look around the room and not be able to walk away from another shot. The older guys will still have enough wheels and gas, the prime guys will still be in thier prime, the younger guys will have one more years worth of experience (and a Red Wing year of experience is like dog years compared to a year's experience on most teams!)

Rage, thanks for the OP and editing the YT clips back in. I was not able to watch After Hours and it was great to see those interviews. It's a side of the game we don't get to see often enough. Really enjoyed it. Back when I went to Walled Lake Central, Livonia Stevenson was in our league, so it's fun to hear them mention Livonia. Thanks a bunch. Maybe this answers some questions about Modano's "slower than fans wanted" start; he's gasping for lungs and legs trying to keep up with the team until he get's himself in Red Wing shape. Go Mike, Go!

All this is going to add up to nothing unless we re sign Sergie Federov.

I couldn't agree with you more. It is going to be very difficult to take headshots out of the game. These are trained professionals, the most talented athletic best skaters and fastest thinking hockey players in the world. They already know that the NHL is clamping down on headshots but can't figure out how to hit a guy at full game speed intensity without getting atleast a part of the mellon along the way. Think aobut it: what does a player's stance look like when he has the puck and is on a rush up the ice? He has to lead with his head! Therefore, the head is going to be vulnerable to a hit. The defensemen that is rushing over to cutoff that player's lane also has to lead with his head. But even if he targets the puck carrier's shoulder or chest, the law's of momentum are likely going to cause the head to be impacted also. There is an ******* in my league that is pretty heavy. I passed the puck but saw that he was hell bent on still taking a run at me. I learned to hit as a tailback and strong safety in football, so just as he was about to make contact with me I got really low and exploded into him. I hit him right in the chest; but his head flung down on impact and recoiled back after the hit and he landed on his head, skates up in the air. As low as i got, it still impacted his head. Physiologically speaking, it's going to be difficult to take head contact out of the game. This is going to be a mess for a while. Edit: The solution is to somehow minimize the shoulder and elbow pads so they are not weapons. If a player feels he will not get hurt at all by creaming somebody, he will not think twice about it. But if he knows it's going to hurt him too, he'll back off a lot. Like in th old days of the NFL when everyone arm tackled. Go back to Chelios/Shanahan style pads or something of that sort, with leather helmets. Flame on.

Summed up quite nicely. I dislike Thornton as much as the next guy, but it was a clean hit. "Head on a swivel" is a lost phrase in modern day hockey. The announcer says the puck was not on Perron: well only cause the he missed it. Big Joe timed it perfectly, the puck had already been there but Perron misses the puck and gets caught by Big Joe. The hit wasn't blind: the hittee (Perron) was blind because he had his head down instead of on a swivel. That's not Joe's fault. Thats a fundamental mistake by Perron. Watch where the f*** you're going cause it's a nasty game out there and people want to take your head off. Also, I didn't hear any goalie stick whacking away on the ice warning of the last few seconds of the penalty so his team knows there is a man coming out of the box (FWIW) This is what is going to be very difficult for the NHL: There is a difference in a hit to the head, and a hit that invloves the head. One is much more avoidable than the other. I don't know how the NHL is going to be successful in this quest to rid the game of hits to the head. It's a great intent, but the reality is not so clear. There is also a major difference in leading with the elbow vs leading with the shoulder and following thru with the elbow (actually, it's following thru with the forearm, but therefore the elbow does come up too, of course): the ladder being legal and clean. Joe lead with the shoulder and followed thru with the forearm. Clean. I can totally understand the NHL wanting and needing to protect their assetts (read million dollar players)by being concerned about hits to the head, but it is going to be difficult to get it right and accurate. And they still have a problem calling routine penalites correctly during a game; good luck with this new headshot issue. The much more frequent high speed collisions are an unforeseen byproduct of the lack of clutching and grabbing and waterskiing (hooking a guy for a ride all the way down the ice). I totally understand the OP's thread title. It's a legitimate concern.

We need to juggle lines and shake things up; light a fire under their asses. 7-2-1 in our first 10 games aint gonna get us no where! (Heavy sarcing disclaimer) Dude: Kenny has built a Cap Era masterpiece; it just needs one little tweaking, hopefully just a little rippenning. It does not need to be torn completely apart and eassembled differently.

OMG. A Prophet. You are the Chosen One. Hey, Is Matt Butcher a healthy scratch for the Cyclones or is he injured again? http://www.cycloneshockey.com/news/latest-stories/ and http://cycloneslive.blogspot.com/ are not so informative and I don't see Matt's dad Garth as often as I used to, to ask him what's going on.

We rallyed to keep our playoff appearence streak going. Will the Devil's streak end at 13?

Kind of like a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for an NHL career. The Lidstrom Award Could you see the criteria for a Datsyuk award: To the player that best personifies a perennial Lady Byng candidate, perrenial Selke candidate, perennial take away leader, best puck handler, best deker, excellent playmaker, voted by goalies most frightenning to face in the shootout, can drop the gloves to shut up douchebags, and does it all with a smile on his face while jamming to "I Feel Good". But i digress...Long Live Norris Nick!