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I'd bring up Leino and put him with Datsyuk and Hossa rather than Helm. Helm has zero scoring ability. Who knows what's wrong with Holmstrom, but he's been more than ineffective. Either way, the call last night was an abortion of officiating. Hopefully it'll rile the Wings up instead of killing their spirits.

HAHAHA You're so intent on being right from such a precarious position that you'll abandon any semblance of logic when making your argument. I wouldn't even call that sophistic. Of course, seeing as you were whining about the number of goals that Datsyuk and Hossa had combined on in the post-season, hockey obviously isn't your strong suit. A player can do a lot to impact a play without showing up on the score sheet. Show me another player who contributed more to Datsyuk's success this season.

With Hossa versus any other regular line combination. Not the sporadic occasions when Datsyuk was out with Maltby and Helm or whatever it is you think is absolving you. We're discussing regular line combinations.

The Datsyuk/Hossa/Holmstrom line also accounted for the most even strength goals of any line and the most powerplay goals of any line.

58 even strength points for Datsyuk this season. Hossa was on the ice for 28 of them. Exactly half. 36 powerplay points for Datsyuk this season. Hossa was on the ice for 17 of them. 46 even strength points for Hossa this season. Datsyuk as on the ice for 31 of them. 23 powerplay points for Hossa this season. Datsyuk was on the ice for 14 of them.

http://www.dobberhockey.com/frozenpool_linecombo.php It's funny how wrong you are. Keep bloviating, though. It's entertaining.

And that figures into criticism of Hossa how? If he's unfairly attacked, I'll defend him. What's going on elsewhere is irrelevant to that end. Do me a favor: think, then post.

Better yet, let's bench him. It's not like he has more points than Datsyuk or anything. Oh wait..

That doesn't mean there's any truth to the statement. Back when Ottawa still had its fondness for choking in the playoffs, Hossa scored 10 points in 12 playoff games in 01-02 and 16 points in 18 playoff games in 02-03. He had one point in four playoff games for Atlanta, but he also had a shoulder injury that should've prevented him from playing at all. Then he scored 26 points in 20 playoff games during last year's run. Unless you want to dredge up his playoff stats when he was in his early 20s and still adapting to the NHL game, the claim has no credence whatsoever. He certainly was markedly better than Datsyuk was at the same stage of his career.

That's not the case at all. You're mistaken. I watched every single Wings game this season in its entirety.

You're clueless, bud. Datsyuk with Franzen and Holmstrom? Are you serious? Leaving aside the fact that Babcock rarely used that combination this season, it certainly didn't result in Datsyuk's best play. If it had, you'd be seeingmore of it. Datsyuk spent 85-90% of the season on a line with Hossa and had the best season of his career. There is no escaping that fact. Hossa's also been better than Datsyuk so far in the playoffs. If I were as willfully ignorant as you, I'd argue that Datsyuk is bringing Hossa down right now.

No one is saying that Hossa is better than Datsyuk. What you're saying is that Hossa 'brings Datsyuk down' which is utterly ludicrous. Look at the stats yourself: Datsyuk spent most of the season on a line with Hossa and scored 97 points in 81 games. His previous career high was 97 points in 82 games. Which part of that are you struggling with? Your ancillary argument is that Hossa's overrated, which is equally ridiculous. I've taken care of both of them.

It sure is crazy how Datsyuk tied his career high in points scored this year (having played one fewer game than the other season that he scored 97 points) after spending most of the season on a line with Hossa! Damn Hossa, stop bringing Datsyuk down. Stop helping Datsyuk to the best season of his career.

Let me break this down for you, Davy: If you take Hossa's 100-point season in Atlanta (21:41 ice time per game), and apply the points per minute to his ice time in Detroit (17:48 per game), he would've scored 82 points in 82 games that season. By Hossa's points per game average this year, had he played 82 games, he would've scored 79 points. That's a three point difference. I think you're done now.

We're not discussing Hossa's defensive prowess (although he is one of the best in the league at it). We're discussing your allegation that he brings other players down. I realize that you're just trolling, but I'll still take the time to dismantle your arguments. He scored 80 or more points twice as a Senator, averaged 96 in his two full seasons in Atlanta, and scored 26 points in 20 playoff games last year (including seven against the Wings). What you've failed to realize is that Hossa's playing four or five minutes fewer PER GAME since he came to Detroit. He played a minute and a half less per game than Datsyuk this year.

How many 100-point seasons does Datsyuk have? What about Hossa?