titanium2

Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk impresses teammates http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...yuk_impres.html DETROIT -- Pavel Datsyuk was asked who taught him his moves. "My daughter. I've seen how kids play," he said. Datsyuk is as quick with a quip as he is with the puck on his stick, and he can make the game seem like child's play with his amazing array of moves. The latest came Saturday, when he scored a spectacular shootout goal against Minnesota's Josh Harding, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory. "When he does something like that, you can see the whole bench go 'Wow!' teammate Niklas Kronwall said. "A lot of the things he does with the puck are almost impossible to do, and he does it full speed. I don't know if I've seen a player like that." Datsyuk dangles the puck, drags his toe, shifts his weight, switches from forehand to backhand in a flash and hangs goaltenders out to dry. Jiri Hudler's advice to kids would be: Don't try this at home. "You want to try it, but you kind of break your hands," Hudler said. "You want to do (the) same as him, but it's impossible." Datsyuk said his moves are a combination of natural ability and hard work. "I don't know all my moves myself," he said. "Maybe some come in a dream." Datsyuk said some of his shootout moves are planned, but added, "you mostly try to read the situation and move." "For a shootout, it's take the puck and see where the goalie is (and) decide what to do," Datsyuk said. "You always have time to change. I have a couple moves, but depending on what the goalie does, I might have to do something different." The move is special, he said, only if he finishes. "If you don't score, no one will remember because they won't show on TV," Datsyuk said. "If you score, you have a chance to see yourself on TV, and that's special to see how you played in that moment." Datsyuk works on his moves in practice but saves his best for games. "If he's got a step on you, he can just accelerate. If you're even with him, he can still stick-handle through you and then come with speed," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He's so shifty. It's hard to know how fast he's coming at you. You think you have him and he still gets by you." Goaltender Ty Conklin said he enjoys playing against Datsyuk in practice. "It's not fun to face him (in games), it's fun to watch it from the other end of the ice," Conklin said. "It's not just goalies he does it to, he does it to defensemen and forwards all the time. He has a knack for making guys look foolish sometimes." Datsyuk has come a long way from earlier in his career when he lacked strength and was easier to outmuscle. "Now I've grown up and worked in the gym and I can play more physical," he said. Opponents must respect his strength. "When someone hits me, I try to do something back," Datsyuk said. "I'm stronger. I'll hit back and finish on the forecheck. It's more part of my game now. I know more how to use my body when I check. I know how not to fall when I'm checked. Maybe I'm a little bit heavier, too." Despite scoring in the shootout against the Wild, Datsyuk was held without a point, snapping a nine-game scoring streak (eight goals, nine assists) that gave him the team scoring lead with 42 points. "If you go back over the four years I've been here, Pav's never been the best player at the start, he's always gotten better and better as the year has gone on," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "Pav loves to have fun and gets energized when he's playing real good, and it seems to carry. And right now, whoever we play him with seems to play real good." When it was pointed out that he has been shooting more (he had a season-high seven shots in each of the two wins against Chicago last week), Datsyuk did not pass up an opportunity for a one-liner. "Where I come from in Russia, we didn't have many sticks. I try to save sticks by passing more," Datsyuk said. "Now, after everyone tells me more shoot, I finally I broke through the wall and I shoot."

I don't know I'm barely legal drinking age. You talking about Felix Potvin or the actual cartoon? I actually remember a goal where Datsyuk beat Lilja (who was playing for the Kings at that time) to the front of the net and gave Felix three dangles before he roofed the puck. He had no idea what hit him. Speaking of Marty, Dallas could be a potential first rounder. Hope they're aware of that.

Haha. Pancakes? "Why don't you purify yourself in the waters of lake minnetonka?" I think the main focus of that is the whole salary thing. Why should Hossa get more money than Pav or Z? Because that's how the market works? I don't know about "he has an awesome pass" though. Other than his pass to Franzen to tie up the game against the Coyotes I haven't really seen him as much of passer; moreso a shooter for other guys to tap in rebounds.

I kind of wish someone would put some new vids of Ville Leino up on YT. You know, other than the old ones in Finland of him diving and flicking people off.

Apparently some in Pitt are now tired of him. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09005/939608-125.stm Q: Should the Penguins trade Sidney Crosby while they can still get top value for him? It is obvious that his skills are diminishing and his turnovers have cost us many games. This team needs a leader with some grit! Donny Roy, McKeesport MOLINARI: Absolutely. Even though Crosby has been pretty ordinary for most of the first half -- no doubt leading teams to conclude that, at age 21, his best years are far, far behind him -- you have to believe Ray Shero still might be able to steal a late-round draft choice for him from some club. Well, a conditional one, anyway. If he acts quickly, that is.

I myself am more partial to this one: Beautiful team passing that ended with a beautiful dangle.

I know he only pulled off the move twice and once was during the regular season but I thought it would've been an absolutely perfect shootout if Zetterberg performed the Nilsson/Forsberg move.

So how does the game winning goal thing count? I thought the person that scores the goal that put them ahead in the shootout gets a game winning goal. Ken and Mickey didn't say so, but I'd still like to ask, is Pav's point streak still alive because of the shootout goal?

I'd look for them to really come together towards the end of the season. Chicago looks like a 2nd round opponent. San Jose looks like a 3rd. I'm not so sure about the East.

I was just curious, was the hype around Jimmy Howard when he was first drafted in 2003 the same as the hype that's growing for Thomas McCullom?

Two goals against CHI by Pav: One a great team effort another a great individual effort. I can't decide which one I like better. You know what? I'd rather not.

Hope not. They'll have a hard time finding someone who battles for the puck the way he does. They say that once Lidstrom leaves there will be a huge hole. Same goes for Homer. He's the best in the league at what he does.

I'm pretty excited for the future Grind Line that's developing in Grand Rapids (Helm-Abdelkader). They just need a third and maybe they can pick up someone cheap. Kopy? Meh, if he's skating well, he could be like Tomas Holmstrom with more of an offensive upside, but he's not physical enough to play the grinder mold the way Helm and Abs do.

I think he demonstrated his supreme hockey knowledge when he was coach of the Penguins. Did Edzo ever apply for a coaching job for the Red Wings? He might be like Melrose in that he's just po'd at the Wings organization for 'not giving him a chance.'

The Red Wings have a big fan base in Australia?

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...dstrom_not.html No Sammy. Meech now in as forward. I don't mean to start a bashing thread, but did something happen to Sammy?

Interesting lines they had today: Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Cleary-Zetterberg-Hossa Hudler-Draper-Filppula Meech-Kopecky-Maltby Lilja-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lebda-Chelios The lines they've had so far were good offense lines but I wonder if Babcock is trying to get some defensive chemistry in there.

The St. Louis fans got me thinking: Which fans do you think hate the Red Wings the most? I've heard one St. Louis fan say that they wish they could bomb the Red Wings during a practice. That's just not right.

Not really when you consider that him on the 3rd line means that he's up against the lines that don't have to worry about Pav or Z on the defensive end. Yes, he is consistent; as a third-line scorer because he's up against the other teams lines that probably aren't their top two defensive lines. And it's not just the first "two" games of this season. They tried Hudler on Z's wing last year too and it didn't look all that good.

Thanks a lot Coyote! I really appreciate it. Here is my blind optimism for some of the players. I'm hoping Kindl-Ericsson will be another version of Kronwall-Stuart. Despite the knocks on their play as of late, it seems like that's very possible. I know he has great skating abilitiy, but it seems to me as if Ericsson is best as a stay-at-home defenseman? If the Wings keep Pav and Z on separate lines for the playoffs, my hope is that Leino will be on Z's right wing. Z needs a guy who can handle the puck and make plays so that he can concentrate on shooting more. Leino seems better suited for that than Filppula, Samuelsson, Cleary or any of the other guys they have on the third and fourth lines. They said Helm is like Draper with more offensive upside. It seems as if Abdelkader is like Dallas Drake with more offensive upside. Helm will definitely be a Red Wing in the playoffs and next year. I hope that Abs will be up next year as well. The 3rd and 4th lines need some real energy and I think he can provide that. I'm struggling to get a handle of Ritola's play. They say he can fill a Tomas Kopecky-like role, but that doesn't say much. From what you said he seems to have better offensive ability?

Hossa has been great so far. With that said, he's just not the best two-way player on the team. Among the big four (13, 40, 93 & 81) he's likely last in two-way ability. We see highlights where he back checks really hard and takes the puck away and say he's a great defensive player, but he doesn't nearly anticipate defensively as well as Pav and Z.

First of all, Z and his line mates have the responsibility of playing against the top scoring line for every game. His responsibilities are on the defensive end first. Yet, in regards to his offense, he could use some help. Z needs a playmaker that can set him up to shoot. Franzen and Samuelsson aren't confident in their playmaking abilities. Plus, Z needs a line mate who isn't a guy that functions best with 3rd line minutes (Hudler). Plus, that third line is really rolling. When the playoffs arrive and contracts are paid out, I wouldn't be surprised to see Leino as Z's right wing. He's like a magnet for the puck and he's a better puck handler and play maker than Filppula, who some might say should get the 2nd line promotion.

Are the Boston Bruins for real? I haven't really paid much attention to them but apparently they are the 2nd best in the league.

So St. Louis, Chicago, Colorado and to some extent Nashville and Pittsburgh. For the most part, Pittsburgh's hate is justified: "So there is this: In the space of 29 days, Detroit rips from Pittsburgh its fiercest playoff predator, Mr. Hossa; its backup goaltender, Ty Conklin, who put a mesmeric spell on opponents in the injured absence of Marc-Andre Fleury; and, oh yeah, the Stanley Cup itself and all of its fashionably glorious cache. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, all diverted to the same increasingly maddening destination." http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08185/894547-61.stm I know the Wings have only faced them twice in the playoffs but I'm surprised there's not one mention of Dallas. But I guess they have their own problems and are smart enough to deal with them.

As much as I'm pre-disposed to hate Chicago teams, I can't help but have nothing but respect for the hawks right now. I hope you're right because they should be excited for that team. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Kane more popular than Toews? No knock on Kane but that's a bit of a turn off for me. I just can't help but think like a coach. I watch Toews play and he's just one of those players that's so useful in so many situations. He is going to be a real joy to watch once he really puts it all together. In terms of a playoff series, if it were to happen then I hope it will be in the third round, maybe second. If it's the first then the wings are in trouble.