dat's sick

Oh he'd be a step up for sure, but he's not the stay-at-home, shot-blocking d-man that this team really lacks..

Didn't argue that Nash isn't a better goalscorer, but I think Datsyuk is a better player. And I think he's just as capable of creating scoring chances by himself. Nash only scored about 7-8 more goals than Pav each of the last two seasons. It's not THAT much more. And I think you're the one being two-dimensional, since you think Bertuzzi is the only reason Pav's production is down by about 30% this year (he played with Homer last year when Homer was playing worse, so he can't be dragging him down that much can he?). I think it has to do with worse linemates but mostly with Pav himself. Either he's playing through an injury or his head is just not in the right place. Maybe both. He's a human being. Sometimes they lose focus or things happen in their personal life that make them struggle on the ice. That's not two-dimensional, it's life. Thinking that he's a robot who always plays on the same level and depending on who is on his wing he either produces 97 or 62 points per season, THAT'S two-dimensional. We'll see if he starts producing now that he's playing with Hank. So far it doesn't quite look like it but maybe they need a while to get the chemistry going again.

He's on pace for 20 goals and 62 points. I don't care if he's playing with me and you, that's too much of a drop for me to be able to blame it only on his linemates. I watched every game last year, and I've seen every game this year. Pavel is NOT playing as well this year as he did the last. With a Hossa or Franzen on his wing, YES he would have more points, definitely more assists, but playing with Bertuzzi is not an excuse for making bad passes, refusing to take shots when he should and just not looking like himself most of the time. He makes mistakes that you don't usually see him do. I'm not bashing Pavel, and I'm certainly not expecting him to lead the league in scoring with Bert and Homer on his wings. But come on, you can't tell me you're not seeing what I'm seeing? Hossa didn't make him into one of the best players in the league last year, and Bert hasn't made him into a decent one this year. You're right, he's not Rick Nash. He's better. This is what he was doing every other night last year: But I guess that's what you can do when you don't have Bert or Homer on your line.

It is

One of the few times Datsyuk has looked like himself this year: name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /> He can do those kinds of things when he wants to. Zetterberg can score from the slot too. Franzen when he gets back. Cleary sometimes, maybe Leino if he gets some confidence. You have a point that we haven't seen enough of it this year though. But we haven't seen enough goals, period, this year. Funny chart btw

And just think how awesome Columbus must think it would be to have Lebda in Stralman's spot. But seriously, Stralman isn't really the kind of defenseman we need.

Datsyuk just isn't playing as well as we know he can.. sure he'd have more points if he played with Franzen or Hossa, but he has what, 7 goals? The last two years he has had over 30, this year he's on pace for somewhere around 20. Even now, when playing with Zetterberg, he is struggling, making bad passes and getting stripped off the puck. Something is wrong with him, either physically or mentally, and all we can do is hope he sorts it out soon.

I could get a shutout playing behind that Devils system, but still impressive as hell.

Met some of the Wings players before the 2nd game against the Blues in Stockholm. Jiri Fischer and Lidstrom stood out as being super nice. Btw, did anyone see this Shanahan story? It's hilarious, and pretty fitting for this thread: http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2009/12...calls_some.html

Didn't expect him to be ready for the olympics, but it's a real bummer if he's not going to be able to play before the playoffs, or even worse if he won't be back until next year. He must be pretty angry. They have a quote in that article from before the games in sweden where he mentions he hopes to stay healthy this season since he's had knee injuries every year except his first in the league.

fixed.

I think the bashing stopped a while ago.. but you're right he has exceeded expectations so far. I'm still holding off judgement to see if he can keep this up, but I'm definitely going to eat crow if he continues like this.

Actually we do have a "defensive coach", but we really need a DEFENSIVE COACH.

I could understand this reasoning if it was Abdelkader or Lebda that stepped up and did this. But Draper is an Assistant Captain and a veteran guy that the team listens to. Lidstrom is a great captain but I don't see him screaming and shouting at the players, even though they might need it. Which is why it's good to have a guy like Draper around, that maybe is a bit more vocal. The guy with the C shouldn't be the only one leading the team. Also, this is a great example of why it's not always good to get rid of older players as soon as they start dropping off a bit. The Maltby's and Draper's that have been around a while are often great to have when the going gets rough.

whaaaa? damn, just noticed. well there goes about half of the videos on my favorites list.

Who cares about that? According to LGW, Lidstrom is only useful if he scores goals.

Why most everything be so black and white around here? Either the guy is the next big thing or he sucks. Either this team is gonna win the cup, or they're going to get a top 3 draft pick. Leino has a lot of promise. I refuse to believe that he doesn't still have the same skills that he showed in his stint with the team last season. This is still the same guy that did this in first NHL game: And did this less than a month ago: name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /> Yes, he needs to bulk up, get stronger and make better decisions with the puck. He still seems to have some of that european mindset that you can make drop-passes on the blueline and that it's not okay to just dump it in. He doesn't seem to have any confidence right now, and ever since Filppula got injured he has had a hard time finding a home on a line, even though I did like him with Hank and Cleary. Maybe when Fil gets back he'll turn his play around. Or maybe he won't. Either way, we need to give him some more time before we completely give up on him.

Well the only comfort in getting a lowly 8 is that I wasn't the only one scoring low. I think we're seeing the effects of the salary cap on the weekend picks as well

Sounds like Draper gave the team a wake-up call in the 1st intermission. Me like.

Wings didn't seem to have a ton of energy this game, good work pulling out the win. Howard played great. Really starting to look confident. Datsyuk needs to move his feet more and SHOOT, but he did get a goal.. Hank looked great as always.

What a play by Z. Amazing.

You guys are way ahead, so I can't refresh this thread that often. I'm telling you, the posts right before the goal were pretty funny when you knew that they scored right after the PP

Hmm, pretty slow game. Lots of broken plays, not many chances. Wings need to get something going.

I think so?

6-0 Wings. Datsyuk with 3, Hank with 2, Lids with 1. Let's do it.