wings_fanatic

I want cleary benched for the game. Other than that I would like to see Babs try this, at least to start the game: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Franzen Nyuist- Fil- Hudler Bert- Helm- Cleary Eaves- Abs- Homer Lidstrom- White Kronners- Kindl Stu- Ericson

indeed this is a greaet greaet job by Kenny. Now only if we could get rid of that Ericson contract...

Yah and apparently they said it is more likely the Jackets will be the one to move to the east which is total BS if that is the case. If the wings are stuck in the west again and columbus gets to move to the east, something is terribly wrong with this league. The Wings better be the team to move.

No, in another universe in 2009 Kenny signed Hossa long term and let Franzen walk.

Well, those odd man rushes pretty much all came when Kronners and Stu were on the ice. Quite frankly, I have been a little disappointed with Kronners so far this season. I think Babs has too because all of a sudden Lidstrom is back to playing about 26 minutes a game, which I like to see because honestly he looks like he did 5 years ago when he is out there. Anywyas, Kronners and Stu defs have to pick their game up or else Babs should scratch Stu for a game to set an example.

Well to be honest, Lidstrom is playing MORE minutes this year and looks just as good and has BY FAR been our best player. So, I would think he will strongly consider coming back for one year. (If we dont win the Cup). Now here is the problem. Nick will not come back if we have this exact same team because too many of the secondary players do not show up and its the same problem all season long with certain players disappearing for bursts of time. Nick will want to see some sort of improvement to the team, and I think he would defs come back for another year the way he is playing. I suggested in another thread that we make some sort of trade involving Semin and Franzen. Both are streaky, yes, but both would have a strong impact on their new teams. Franzen provides the Caps with experience and a goal scorer in Semin's place, and he scores goals in different ways then Semin too. Meanwhile, Semin would provide the Wings with their first sniper since Hossa, along with youth that I think could get this team rolling. We need our team to be rolling so that we have a chance at the Cup, and more importantly, so that Nick wants to come back one more year if we do not get the Cup.

I have been thinking a lot about a trade that could provide a youthful spark for the wings, but also possess some offensive upside as well. Then it hit me. Alexander Semin. Now i know i am probably a little biased here because I am a pretty big fan of Semin... I think he is very talented, but I think the Wings could benefit greatly if we could swing some sort of trade. Semin is very much like Franzen on our team... both of them have the ability to score goals, however, they also have the annoying ability to disappear at times. So how about some sort of trade involving Franzen and Semin (obviously it wouldn't just be straight up) but I think this would be beneficial to both teams. - The Wings would gain a younger Semin, whom I think has one of the best shots in the league. Keep in mind Semin plays only 2nd line minutes in Washington with no one really good on his line, and still puts up 30 goals a season. Get him in Detroit and stick him with Pavs, that could be a dynamic duo. Not to mention, it would give us a much needed right handed shot for the power play. - The Caps would gain something they desperately seek... experience. Franzen knows what it is like to win, he knows what it is like to play in key situations in the playoffs and, like Semin, has the ability to score goals. Franzen, unlike Semin, scores goals in different ways, which is something the Caps could look to benefit from. I think this would be a great move for the both teams, and it would make the Wings into a more dangerous team and provide us with a legitimate "sniper" for the first time since Hossa.

I agree that coaching is Part of the problem. I disagree with you, however, about Pavs and Hank. It think they play best when together, and they have been playing good (they had tons of chances tonight). It is only a matter of time until thinks start clicking full force for those two. In that regards, I support Babcock. However, his playing Cleary on the top 2 lines needs to end now. Cleary has been the worst player on the wings this season by far, yet he continues to be given a role on the 2 top lines and meanwhile Babcock demotes hudler!? That is not good coaching imo that is just favortism. Cleary should be on the 3rd line by now. Another thing that I am happy about is that Babs is playing Nick a lot more lately, which is nice to see because, lets be honest, not only does he look really good out there, but he is clearly having fun with more minutes, and he is clearly our best dman by a long shot. I want to see that continue. Going into Tuesday, Babs needs to make small changes that will spark the team, and I think that he started those changes tonight with all the mixing of things. Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer (their best shifts came against the Wild when homer was on the ice with them try it for a game Babs!!) Franzen- Filps- Hudler (I want to see babcock call this line out and tell them that if they don't play better there will be changes) Bertuzzi- Helm- Cleary (solid 3rd line and cleary may suck on the top 2 lines, but he is a very very good 3rd line player) Eaves- Abs- Miller (defensive responsible 4th line) Lidstrom- White (they have been our only good pairing) Kronners- Kindl (kronners and stu simply have not been working well together, time to try something fresh) Ericson- Stu - - Babcock could make a billion changes to the lines for tuesday, but it would be pointless. What it comes down to is that he needs the players to understand that they need to be committed to playing a 60 minute game with 100% EFFORT. It has come time for more strict coaching... which means that, while things should change like i said above, if certain players continue to play half-ass, then they should be benched for a game. I don't care who they are... Zetterberg, Franzen, CLEARY, Bert, Stu to name a few. If someone is benched for a game if they continue to not play as expected, then it would send a message to the team that Babs is not only in charge, but means business. That is what the Wings need right now imo.

If only Lidstrom could play 60 minutes we would be set on D! I wanted homer put on the top line, but this is an interesting move by Babs, so I would like to see how it plays out for the next period. Also, the top powerplay unit, Babs has changed it to using 4 forwards and Nick on the point, which I also find interesting. Hopefully the team can get going here in the 2nd because anything less is unacceptable at this point.

Well Cleary continues to suck on that line... wtf is with Babock... change the line! I am tired of seeing Cleary unable to make proper passes, give the puck away and meaningless shots.

Honestly though, Cleary has been our worst player. Even in the games where the Wings were winning, I was still claiming that Cleary was playing like crap and that he does not deserve to be on the top line, and with this losing streak, he is just proving my point even more. Cleary is a great player when on the 2nd or 3rd line, but he simply is not a first line player because he tries to do too much. That is the ultimate difference between him and Homer- - Homer does his job and lets Pavs and Hank do the rest, which gets the job done. Thats the only major line change that I want to see.

I don't think Fabian was waived today because I just read an Mlive article stating that he was simply a healthy scratch tonight along with Eaves.

As the poster above mentioned, Pavs said he actually would rather Homer on his line than Cleary, and Homer has been doing all the little things right to earn his spot on that line over Cleary. Therefore, I think the lines should be: Zetterberg- Datsyuk- Homer Hudler- Filpulla- Franzen Cleary- Helm- Bertuzzi Eaves- Abdelkator- Miller I do not like the idea of changing lines all the time if we lose, because then everyone will want lines to be changed all the time, all season, which does not allow for chemistry. IMO, Pavs and Hank worked great together last night, and if they continue to play at a high level like that, then there is no reason to not play them together. Homer needs to be on their line to track pucks and keep play simple. The 2nd line, though it sucked last game, proved many times this season that they have chemistry and also the ability to put pucks in the net. The 3rd and 4th lines, however, have not been very good lately, so a small change is needed. A 3rd line of Helm, Cleary and Bert is good because it has skill and grit... they can defend opposing lines and provide some offense. The 4th line would be a typical checking line, which would be good. Quite Frankly, Babcock needs to keep his lines together if possible, even if in a little funk, because the last couple of season, we have had a billion different line combos, and look how that has turned out for us in the post season. In 2008, Babs stuck with his line combinations for most of the season (Pavs and Hank played together most the time) even if we were losing games, because you need the chemistry there more than it has been. I think this is one of the most crucial adjustments Babs has to make. So, I would stick to the lines for now. If they lose 1 or 2 more games in a row, then you would start looking at some minor adjustments.

Umm, Red Wings were actually pretty dominant on Faceoffs tonight. That is one thing that they all did pretty good tonight. As for the defense coverage, I agree that they need to take a bit more of a simplistic approach... there are times where they look like a timbits team chasing after the puck. As for the 2nd powerplay unit, I disagree with you. A couple games ago, everyone was praising Babs and coaching staff for how great that unit was on the PP, now all of a sudden Babcock is dumb for that?? Come on, that line just had a really off night tonight, no need to blame Babs for that. Like I said earlier, there is no reason Babs couldn't have left Pavs and Hank out there the entire PP in the 3rd since the 2nd unit was so bad all night. The Pens and Caps are able to keep their key guys out the entire 2 min, so we can too sometimes. Another thing that needs to be fixed is the PK. It is simply a disaster! They look so disorganized, its not even funny. The problem is that this season Babs is just throwing out random forwards to kill off penalties, and they never have the same partner- - same for the Dmen. In 2008 our PK was so successful because we had units, and we stuck to them. I dont care what anyone says, our PK is 10 times better when Pavs and Z are on a unit killing it off (it worked then) and they both like to do it. So they should be a unit, along with Helm and Miller/Eaves and Fil/Cleary as the 3rd unit. That way there, each unit has forwards who are used to one another, which will help organize and kill off penalties.

Cuz its pretty evident to a lot of fans, yet kenny does not recognize the need for change. He has dressed pretty much the same team the past 2 years and this year, and wouldn't you know, we still have trouble winning against the sharks. We are right there with them, but they end up winning. We need a minor change to better them.

Seriously guys, can we agree that Kenny needs to make some sort of move by the deadline if we are to beat the sharks in a 7 game series? I mean it is pretty evident that we need help beyond just 13, 40 and 5. What do you think the best options would be?

Homer is not an every other game player. And Babcock's philosophy is off this season so far. He needs to make better decisions with his lines. A couple years ago, Cleary getting 0 points in 6 games with PAvs nad Z, playing as bad as he has been, would not STILL be on that line. Homer played a great game tonight, and when he was out there with Pavs and Z tonight, they were all dominant every shift. IMO, starting tomorrow night, Homer should be on that line, and I would not mind to see cleary be a healthy scratch tomorrow night. He is a great player, but maybe he needs a game to clear his head.

I understand the idea of Bert being on the top line, but having Homer on the line keeps it simple for the Eurotwins. Bert has more skill, yes, but he does not win the puck battles that Homer does in the offensive zone. Homer gets the puck to PAvs and Z, and then goes to the net and lets them work their magic. It's simple, it works over and over again, so I do not understand why Babcock refuses to do it.

I swear to god Babcock better take Cleary off the top line. I don't care if its back to back night tomorrow night, Homer better play because he had a great game tonight when with Pavs and Z. Cleary was garbage. He does not have a point in 6 games playing with Pavs and Z and does not deserve it. Homer finds ways to get to lose pucks, which he did multiple times tonight, and give the puck to his linemates. All in all, besides that, the game was frustrating to watch because we deserved to win it. We had a goal called off again, and again that was the turning point of the game and costed us.

Babcock should have just kept the Big guys out there the entire powerplay. Obviously the 2nd line did not come to play tonight, so they should not be given powerplay time. Keep Pavs and Hank out there.

WTF are these refs doing tonight!?>! Are they only calling BS and letting actual penalties go or something?@!! That is a TERRIBLE non call.

Yes, so Kenny needs to realize this and make some sort of a change. Because if we meet the Sharks in the playoffs again, we will have to rely on our big 3 again as no one else will show up. I am not worried about the regular season, as I think the Wings have a deep team that will be successful, but imo we need to have some sort of roster change in order to have more guaranteed success against the sharks. Clearly, it has to be some sort of an addition to the 2nd line to provide more scoring.

This is kind of like the playoffs last year against the Sharks. Pavs, Hank and Nick are the only 3 Wings doing their job and keeping the Wings in this. Where the hell are our 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines? They look like they are just breezing around out there. Another thing, as I have said numberous times, Cleary is annoying on the top line with the Eurotwins. He doesn't know what to do when he gets the puck, falls down a lot, and tonight took a stupid penalty. I don't get why Babs doesn't try Homer back on the top line with Pavs and Z because it simply is not working out for Cleary- - he is not a top line player imo. Since our bottom 6 clearly look lazy tonight, adding cleary to the 3rd line might get it going more. One other thing, White has had a bad game tonight. The 2nd goal was a fluke, but the breakaway goal White has got to realize that Nick had pinched. Another thing, he shoots the puck all the time on the powerplay right off the faceoff, and the other team clears it right away... it drives me NUTS! With that said, this is the first noticeably "not great" game by White,but Cleary needs to be taken off the top line. Hopefully Pavs and Z and Nick can keep going for us and get us 2 points since the rest of the team took the night off.

Why is it that refs ALWAYS favor the sharks when we play them? That call on Nick was extremely weak.

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