cupforwings

I agree 100%. People here are freaking out because we are not in first place like every other year. But if we make it to the playoffs with a healthy team, we will be very very feared. It would be like playing a 1 seed in the first round for whoever ends up playing the wings. And why is everybody saying they will not go deep in the playoffs? They would have the same chance of going deep in the playoffs as any other team, probably more of a chance with the talent and experience of a full roster. With DHE as our 4th line, we are much better off. Those guys would be a dominate 4th line, much better and more effective than the current one. And, bringing Franzen and Filpula back won't mess anything up at all. Franzen has more chemistry and skill with Zetterberg and Datsyuk than the current line do. And Filpula will be great for our third line center. Your lines are stupid and terrible and would never happen. Yeah, they are just going to bench their two free agent signings to put in Miller and Abdelkader (who are awesome i admit). They would be a solid third line and add to our depth. Not sure what you are thinking.

Before the last 3 games, we just won 4 in a row and had went 7-2-1 in the last 10 which is good. And that "missing intangible" that you speak of comes down to one thing: FRANZEN, FILPULA, WILLIAMS, KRONWALL, LILIJA... we haven't had a full team since first game at the Joe... If anything, these injuries will make us stronger during the home stretch. We will have our top guys trickling back into the lineup, while our younger guys will have less pressure + experience in winning games. They continue to win games, even with a depleted lineup, which can only be positive for the rest of the season.

it will be Meech-Lebda, at least for a few games to see how they play together... but i think they will bring Janik up in a few games when this pairing doesn't work out

That wouldn't work... Helm is a checker and speed guy, not a hands and scoring guy.. If it were to be anybody, it would be Abby. But as of now, Bert is till the best option

Uh oh... i see another Jake Ryan thread coming if that line doesn't score tonight.. but really, Datsyuk is trying hard he just doesn't have any chemistry with Bert (who can't find the back of the net to save his life). Maybe they should try putting Abby up there. He is a goal scorer and with Datsyuk passing it to him he can't do much worse than Bert... Now to contradict myself, i still think Bert best option for that line, skill wise. p.s. On a good note, only 3ish more months until Franzen is back!!!

ha ha nice, Matthew Barnaby answered my question the other day... He told me that Chicago was going to win the central... pretty funny

they should just have the goal judge watching a HDTV of the overhead camera... That way nobody can mess up

there is no argument for that not being a goal... unbelievable

is it just me or has there been a ton of odd man rushes this game... the D seem to be getting caught whenever we have the puck in their zone

If these 3 want to take discounts to TRY and create a winning team, then you gotta respect it, as stupid as it may be. I remember hearing, on multiple occasions, that the hawks think they have a plethora of talent in the AHL, just waiting to come to the NHL and be productive. I hope this is what they are counting on doing because they will be in for a rude awakening when their AHL players don't meet their expectations... Somethings gotta give here, whether its a lot of depth or a big name player... Either way, I don't see it working out too well... maybe i'm wrong

hopefully howard can keep it going... Ozzie must really be sick... I really want Lilija to come back this year... from the sound of things he is on the right track

They are playing good as of late, but they won't fully be back until Franzen and Filpula are in the lineup... that will be huge

The point is, splitting Z and Pav up gives us amazing depth. Depth is why they have been so successful over he years: 4 lines coming at the other team consistantly, wearing them down over the course of the game. Leaving our 3 line weak doesn't make sense when putting Filpula there would make it stronger. Datsyuk and Zetterberg APART=more points than datsuyk and zetterberg together

Yep, then he recovered with a phenomenal play

I do think Zetterberg and Franzen have potential and play really well together. However, then you leave Bert playing with Datsyuk which is only effective to a certain point. He is more of a 3rd line player these days. Zetterberg will produce with Clearyl, and Franzen will produce with Datsyuk. In pre-season i think Babcock had Datsyuk and Franzen and they were playing really well with each other, so we will see. I guess it seems to make more sense to balance the lines with equal scoring threats. But I defiantly wouldn't be upset if they put Franzen with Zetterberg. Like you said, a ton of potential

I don't really see that. The number of points D and Z produce apart is greater than the number they produce together. The only way Babcock will put them back together is if no one else is playing at that time. Really, splitting them up seems to be more effective

are you suggesting they will put Z and Dats together?

why would they split up Z and cleary when they consistently work well together? If anyone is the odd man out of that line it is Leino, not Cleary. Plus, that first line could be greatly improved with Franzen... He's like Bertuzi, except better at everything, especially scoring.

Zetterberg and Datsyuk would only be reunited if lines started struggling later on. But really, its kind of pointless to put them together because they will produce much less together then they will apart. Its better to have two dangerous lines than one... he lines would probably look something like this if everyone was healthy tomorrow: Cleary-Zetterberg-Leino Homer-Datsyuk-Franzen Bert-Filpula-Williams Draper-Helm-Eaves thats looks nasty....

Ah, gotch ya... like you said.... sarcasm detector fail

ha, i was being optimistic from that pessimistic comment... i guess i just don't get why people think it will take a "miracle" for us to MAKE the playoffs... i mean, we are not as dominate as last year, but we are not terrible by any means... they are 7-1-1 in their last 9 and are 1 point out of the lead for the central... he just makes no sense

If your being serious about it taking miracle, then you are a idiot... but I'm pretty sure your being sarcastic since we didn't have hat-tricks left and right last season.... They are playing really well right now and our offense is really starting to take off.... keep it up!

zetterberg is awesome!!! Celary had an amazing game... the wings have really turned it on lately... just wait till Franzen, Filpula, and Lilija are back

C-Zetterberg A-Datsyuk A-Kronwall A-Cleary after Zetterberg.......... Abdelkador!

remember Pronger is gone now, so they will only be half as dirty and cheap... can't make a prediction, its been bad luck so far... GO WINGS!!!