Jake Ryan

Another HHO victim.

Stay Classy, Arms Crossed Guy!!!

Over the last 2 seasons, only one thing about Babcock's decisions can be questioned, and that's the timing of the decisions. He has made GREAT decisions. 1) Get Osgood in there for Hasek last year = Great 2) Go to the net instead of shooting from the perimeter = Great 3) Get Holmstrom THE F$%K OFF of Datsyuk's line = Great The only thing that can be said of these decisions is that they should have been made sooner. But unlike Dave Lewis, Babcock recognizes a problem and fixes it (eventually).

Skilled Euro >>> Canadian Goon Zetterberg >>> Getzlaf

Ok. You're right. I'm happy that Holmstrom's on the 4th line and NOT on Pavel Datsyuk's line. You're UN-Happy that Datsyuk and Hossa are playing together. Why should I be upset at this, again? Let's just move on. I'll let Abdelkader show you how good Datsyuk and Hossa can be together. And I hope that Babcock continues to use Holmstrom on the PP, and Homer bangs in 3 or 4 pp goals. Then we can both be happy with him.

3, of course!

And my point is that this statement is COMPLETELY unfounded. Datsyuk had 97 points playing with Hossa all season and is nominated for 3 trophies. Hossa had 40 plus goals and a solid 2 way game. NHL.COM. How is this "not playing well together" again? Help me understand your logic. There's ONE variable that was unchanged for the most part. Datsyuk-Holmstrom. Game 7 saw Babcock finally put Homer where he truly belongs (12th forward/power play specialist), and Datsyuk didn't disappoint when he finally got to play on a line without Homer (Samuelsson Goal). You guys might be right that I'm blowing up a little too much, but I HATE people criticizing Pavel Datsyuk. This guy is a MONSTER for our team. He's AWESOME, and if he's being marked by a forward and a defenseman in a series, then it's the responsibility of his line-mate(s) who get to play in the vacated space to take advantage and pressure the other team until they have to play Pavel straight up. Holmstrom OBVIOUSLY cannot do this. You could put a parking cone on Holmstrom's wing, and that would stop him from scoring 5 on 5. It's not hard to find the weakness on any line Holmstrom's on during 5 on 5 play. Babcock has made the adjustment. Now it's time for any people who are still holding onto their HHO to make the adjustment, as well. That's all I'm saying.

I'm just getting sick of people knocking Datsyuk. It's so lame. The guy has won a selke trophy, led the team in points, and is nominated for 3 other trophies right now, including both MVP awards. Yet, he's the FIRST guy everybody gets on when adversity strikes the team. It's ridiculous. ESPECIALLY when it's not his fault. The other team marks him with a forward and a defenseman, and the reason they can do this is because the coach has his HHO in full effect. Watch the games again and watch the activity of Tomas Holmstrom. Watch him wait at the blue line for the outlet pass while Datsyuk and Hossa dig down low to break up the Ducks' cycle. Watch Datsyuk and Hossa catch up to Holmstrom and go by him at the other blue line as Holmstrom lags behind the play. It's never Holmstrom breaking down a wing to cut in on the goalie and jam the puck in as he runs over the goalie. It's Holmstrom to the outside where he won't get held, hooked, or slashed quite as badly. Meanwhile, Datsyuk and Hossa take the bad rap for having to play in virtually a short handed situation because their line-mate is a LOUSY 5 on 5 player. I can't believe people rip on Hossa and Datsyuk. It's hilarious.

And I merely told you that your opinion is completely RETARDED. I don't know if you watch a lot of hockey, but you need 3 players to make a good line. If your grandmother is the other winger on the Datsyuk-Hossa line, guess what's going to happen to Datsyuk and Hossa? Yah, they're going to suck together. Same with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Same with Franzen and Datsyuk. Same with Jesus and Datsyuk. It takes 3 players to make a good line. There's a reason Holmstrom has been DEMOTED to the 4th line and Abdelkader is in his spot. It's called "HOLMSTROM SUCKS 5 on 5". What part of this do you not understand? Go back and watch the games, please. Holmstrom skates blue line to blue line. Pavel and Hossa skate goal line to goal line. You know why Holmstrom can't skate goal line to goal line? Because he FREAKING SUCKS 5 on 5, ok!!! Get rid of your HHO, ok? The guy's days on the Wings are numbered, and his effectiveness and role on the team are CLEARLY dwindling. Why do so many people treat Tomas Holmstrom like he's #19 around here? I don't understand the HHO, and never will. In the playoffs, the guy is a good power play agitator. It STOPS THERE. P.S. Did you even notice what happened when the coach moved Holmstrom and Datsyuk to play with Zetterberg? Yah, the ZDH line started sucking too. That's why he QUICKLY moved Cleary in to fill Holmstrom's spot. Coach finally picked up on the fact that HOLMSTROM was causing the problem. That's why he's on the 4th line now. Enough Said.

Best thing the Wings can do with this kind of B.S. is only give the Hawks fans 2 games to open their big yaps. 4-1 Wings.

Everybody can say what they want, but Osgood probably won us that series. I'm not a huge Osgood fan, but I'll give credit where it's due. The guy was a ROCK in that series, and pretty much has been in the playoffs for the last 2 years. I don't sit there and cringe too much when the other team is cycling anymore.

Sorry. Babcock's HHO is GONE, boy-o. Keep holding onto yours as long as you want, but Datsyuk - Hossa - Abdelkader is going to ROCK. There's nothing you can do about it. Put your Holmstrom jersey on and wait for the power plays, ok?

AMAZING HOW SOMEPEOPLE HAVE NO READING AND COMPREHENSION. Let me translate this for you, since you must not be able to determine the reason Datsyuk and Hossa suffered together. TOMAS HOLMSTROM SUCKS 5 on 5 and has a VERY LIMITED roll on the Red Wings during tough playoff series. Ninety-SUX poisoned Datsyuk throughout the Ducks series, and coach Babcock has figured this out. Did you read the opening post at all? Abdelkader and Holmstrom switch spots. End of story. It's not "Coach going to try Datsyuk and Hossa out again" or "Datsyuk looking to rebound". It's "Abdelkader skating in what WASHolmstrom's spot". PLEASE NO MORE BLAME ON DATSYUK. 13 is a freaking wizard, but he and one other linemate cannot play 2 on 3. No 2 players in the NHL can be effective against 3 other forwards. That's called being SHORT HANDED. In effect, that's what Tomas Holmstrom does when he plays 5 on 5. He's slow and not very skilled. Ninety SUX has one job on this team now: Bang in Power Play goals. That's it. Anyone who watched all of the games against Anaheim knows this. And the STATISTICS are evidence if you're still not convinced. The "Holmstrom Hard-On" is a tough thing to get rid of because the guy has been a good player in years past and is well liked in Detroit. Even Babcock had a hard time getting rid of his HHO. But he figured it out. You should too.

Well, you obviously don't like guys that hit, skate, and create offense. Sorry. Maybe you're right. Maybe it's more fun to watch Holmstrom skate around like a 400 pounder out there. We'd be better off with a 46 year old Joe Kocur than Holmstrom at this point.

EXACTLY. Everyone saying Bettman does such a good job. Well, we'll see how good of a job he does. Neidermayer deserves a suspension for this stupid butt-end to the face. Regardless of who he is, what game it is, where it occured. The evidence is there. Bettman won't do a god damn thing, though. The Ducks will be allowed to play this brand of hockey without recourse. The Wings won't have the answer they SHOULD HAVE HAD TONIGHT (Kocur). The Wings fans will ***** about why they don't get the calls. It's all just a joke. I don't know why the Wings don't fight fire with fire. Especially when they're up in the series. It'd be one thing if the Wings were trailing 3-2 tonight. But the Wings needed a big man out there to mix it up tonight. They were getting pushed around, and all they have is Datsyuk and Hossa throwing Euro SLAPS around. The Ducks have got to be laughing in their locker room. And they have a right to. The Wings looked like BIG HAIRY PU$$IES TONIGHT. They looked that way because that's what they were. When Neidermayer is getting the better of you, you've got a testosterone problem. Oh well. We'll see what happens in game 7. Hopefully the Wings win, and we can all stop the bashing and forget about this miserable series. It's been the WORST series of hockey I've seen in a long time. It looks exciting from a box score standpoint, but this really isn't old time hockey. This is new Bettman time hockey with sh!tty officiating, slow ice, and crappy hockey in general. No wonder the league has a hard time drawing fans. Tonight, this was a perfect example of why the league is better off without the Bettman North American style rules.

I'd like to see Hudler have a buzzer on his hand for Getzlaf. That would make my day.

I can't believe some of these people are watching the same games I am. It's amazing how ANYONE can blame Datsyuk for our troubles. The guy gets the puck and is immediately hooked, swarmed, stabbed, slashed, and grabbed at center ice by 2 Ducks. Why can they do this? Because HOLMSTROM CANNOT SKATE AND CANNOT SCORE. There is absolutely no threat of anyone BUT Zetterberg, so the Ducks can afford to stick 2 guys in the neutral zone on the puck carrier and one other guy hooking the other. Holmstrom won't be involved in the play until 2 seconds after all the garbage happens to Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and even if by some miracle, the puck rolled over to him, he couldn't do anything with it anyway. It would take less than 3 strides for Neidermayer to catch up to Holmstrom. It's absolutely ridiculous to slow your two best players down with Ninety-SUX. But Babs won't lose his Holmstrom Stiffy. Like most of the fans on here, he's got a Homer love affair going to. So let's just hope the other 3 lines come through in game 7. If they don't, it's golf season.

Yes, at least with the Wings, you're opposition only has 6 men on the ice. With the Ducks, you have to face 10.

Truth comes out when you're drunk. Z and Dats need to fight through the officials and get it done. All that matters is game 7. Everyone will either forget about this FOREVER if we win, or this team will start getting rearranged and dismantled if we lose.

You've supplied your own rebuttal in the same post without even realizing it. Why do you think Helm is on the odd-man rushes in the first place? Because he's slow and got lucky? Because the defensemen fell down? NO. Helm has SPEED. Helm has TOUGHNESS. Helm has PUCK CONTROL. HELM CAN GET OPEN. If you can't see how Datsyuk and Zetterberg can benefit from this, then you're absolutely not paying attention to any of the games. Helm has been our best forward this whole series and playoffs. It's time Babcock does what he should have done after game 2.

Go to NHL.com, hit "player search", type in Holmstrom, click on Tomas Holmstrom, and view Ninety-SUX's stats for the series. This guy is the POISON Datsyuk is dealing with. Coach won't separate Ninety-SUX from Pavel, so get used to this. Problem is it rubs off on Zetterberg, too. Double Whammy for the Wings. Big time bonus for the Quack Attack. Anyone that Holmstrom plays with will do worse 5 on 5 than what they would do if they didn't play with him. That's where Ninety-SUX is at in his career. I like Homer, and he serves a role on the PP, but he's absolutely KILLING us right now. Babs can't see it so far.

Why is that funny? Helm is our best player right now. He's the guy the other team is having a hard time containing. A peg-legged defenseman could contain Holmstrom.

I can't understand why the Wings can't score a goal in the first 10 minutes of a hockey game. I'm tired of this calm, collective, look like you've been there before, lax attitude. I want to see the Wings have the same look on their faces that Ryan Getzlaf has on his. A "FK YOU *******" look. I want them to score in the GD DAMN FIRST PERIOD for once. JESUS

THANK YOU, LORD!!! I am not the ONLY one who has seen this OBVIOUS development. EASIEST coaching change on the planet. Holmstrom, you only play on the power play. HELM, you're on Datsyuk's line. Rest of the team, be ready to take a wing spot on the 4th line. Scotty would have made this change after game 1. It's sad that Babcock is stumbling out there like this.

#43, young one.