eva unit zero

Got it. So blind passes to our defensive zone, lazy skating when trying to defend such, and not attempting to stop a shot are now acceptable behaviors; at least when Hudler is the victim of the ensuing play because everyone is a big fan of hating on him no matter how hard he tries. Did ANYONE notice he was the only player trying to stop Richards from scoring?

Filppula/Datsyuk/Holmstrom Franzen/Zetterberg/Hudler Cleary/Turris/Bertuzzi Abdelkader/Helm/Miller(Eaves)

Not attempting to make a save is not attempting to make a save, regardless of whether it's a breakaway or not. Got it. In situations like that, only one defenseman should be trying to get to the puck, even if his partner is much faster and could beat him (and any opposing player) to it.

It doesn't matter if it's an Enzo vs. a Gremlin; having that extra startup time that Richards had while Hudler was trying to keep the puck IN the zone was far more of a difference than any difference in skating speed. If Hudler starts skating towards Howard immediately, Richards doesn't beat him to the puck. That was the only arguable mistake Hudler made; trying to go after a puck that was well out of his reach.

Given the "Czech" feel of the team, it would also line Hudler up to be the next captain of the Coyotes.

So Hudler's lack of skating speed makes it his fault, but Howard's lack of reaction speed is forgivable? Especially when we all have seen Howard react much quicker many times in the past WEEK?

Not by the time it was clear Hudler wasn't going to have a chance to hold the puck in. At that point Richards was five, maybe ten feet away from Hudler and Hudler was just starting to move. Babs did it because he wasn't/isn't willing to take other guys off the PP, but knows Hudler has to be there for it to be at its best. What people were concerned about from the comments I read was about Hudler not being able to handle pressure or clearing attempts, and that his skating would be a problem moving back and forth along the blue line. Hardly the same situation. Lidstrom doesn't stop that puck from leaving the zone. Nobody does. Skating isn't a factor until you get to chasing the puck down. And Hudler was at a severe disadvantage BEFORE you consider the fact that he's a slower skater than Richards. Line up two sports cars. Say they both do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. If you set them up so one sports car will hit 60 at the starting line of the other sports car, and give the sports car with the longer track a 2 second head start, it will win every time. That's basically what happened on the Richards goal. As I said before; it's because Babcock knows he needs to put Hudler on the PP but doesn't want to take his other guys off. Think about it; Hudler didn't replace a struggling Cleary, or anyone else up front, on a completely unproductive PP. He replaced Jakub Kindl, who was barely given a chance to play on D. Hudler's best spot on the PP is the low right boards; he was LETHAL there in 2008-09 setting up Z and Franzen. I wouldn't mind seeing a Flip/Dats/Homer, Franzen/Z/Hudler setup for the PP, maybe working in some Cleary and Bertuzzi.

So what you're saying is if given the option to have Jiri Hudler or Andrew Cogliano as your first line center, you would pick Cogliano? Shenanigans! Yes, and Drew Miller was out there with Datsyuk. Babcock was playing his BEST defensive players. I didn't say Hudler was one of the best defensive players on the team. I have said, and follow me here: In past years, Hudler has been above average defensively compared to the league. He has gotten better defensively this year. The reason Wings fans bag on him so much for his defense is the fact that he plays on a team that is stocked with skilled defensive forwards. Kopecky saw the same fate; he was bashed for his D in Detroit, left the D and was a solid all-around forward for Chicago and now in Florida and has played key PK minutes for both. Ah yes. react sooner. Such poor judgment of Hudler to not react quicker than immediately. And such slow reaction speed, in that he didn't make it to the puck that he would have had to be skating towards before the faceoff to stop from exiting the zone. Or the fact that Richards was going full speed, and was within a couple feet of Hudler, by the time Hudler had a chance to react. As for defensive positioning; take a look at the replay and watch how Hudler forces Richards to go around him. The simple fact that Richards was going full speed while Hudler was standing still when the play started pretty much defined the result. Hudler had no chance because he wasn't expecting Cleary to hand the Kings a nice breakout pass, and therefore didn't position himself in "Cleary prevent" formation.

In that scenario we would see White's ES time drop by around 2 minutes. So hand that to Kindl or Smith. Ericsson has been playing 14 mins at ES, to Kindl and Smith getting about 13 each. So each of Kindl and Smith would see maybe 14-15 minutes at ES. White was playing 19 minutes at ES, by FAR the leader on the team, before his injury. So it would actually be completely reasonable (Kindl would play about 14-15 ES, Smith 14-15 ES and 2 PP, 16-17 Total) so we're not looking at a huge drain on the top four by removing Ericsson from the PK.

I said Howard stood still as if he didn't expect Richards to shoot. I'd love to hear YOUR analysis of Howard's actions on that goal. And Cleary and Kronwall, for that matter.

Add Turris for a 2nd and Ferraro? I don't see it happening, but he'd be a great addition to the roster.

Smith was skating with Commodore, Ericsson with Kronwall, and Kindl with Stuart. So it's hard to say who's going to be in. If Smith is in, Babs might be shuffling the PP units considerably as Smith has looked pretty good there. But Kindl/Stuart and Kronwall/Ericsson suggest that Smith will be out for the next game. It feels like we're probably looking at two rotations from here on out unless something changes; Kindl/Smith, and Ericsson/Commodore.

Had Kronwall been skating as hard as Hudler was, Richards never gets that puck. The reason Richards got that puck is because Hudler tried to stop it at the line, as anyone would. Richards was already skating towards him at this point, and Hudler had to turn and start going. Richards already had a significant head start because he was up to full speed much sooner. Had Kronwall started skating hard (and kept skating) once it became apparent the puck was going past the line, that is his puck. Or maybe Cleary doesn't just randomly shovel the puck. Hudler had absolutely ZERO chance to stop Richards' goal. Also, if you watch the replay, Howard basically just stands there while Richards puts it through him; it's like he wasn't expecting Richards to actually shoot. But yes, it's Hudler's fault because he was the guy who tried to get to the puck and Richards beat him to it. Damn that Hudler, trying to prevent a goal and failing.

Ok, and he does play defense. The other day he played more defense than forward. He's captained the Czech national team and starred at center in the KHL, AHL, and internationally. He doesn't play center because Babcock has never given him a chance there. How about a first line of Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Filppula and a second line of Franzen/Hudler/Cleary? Leaves Abs/Helm/Bert and Miller/Emmy/Homer to finish out the roster. Or you can go with Filppula/Datsyuk/Homer, Franzen/Zetterberg/Cleary, Abs/Hudler/Bertuzzi, and Miller/Helm/Eaves. Hudler at center is not a ridiculous idea; he's an excellent playmaker and if you put him between two big bodies, the "small guy" argument is invalidated. Reference the early 80s and the Messier/Gretzky/Anderson line.

Hudler has plenty of experience as a defenseman. He played there part-time in Grand Rapids. How many other players on the team have ever played defense and forward? Ericsson? Then you have the highly skilled guys like Kronwall, Dats, Z, and Lidstrom who could easily fit into any of those positions; although I'm not sure how good Kronner or Nick are on faceoffs.

No. Why would you waive him? Send Brunnstrom back to Grand Rapids since he's not playing much anyway, and when he does he isn't doing well. Keep Commodore on the roster because there's always the chance you lose a defenseman or two; remember the other day when White was out and then Kronwall went down? Had Kronwall stayed out, it would put both of them in the lineup. Why lose a decent defenseman when you don't have to? Of course, this is LGW. Where you waive players you have room for, just because they aren't playing (Commodore), or aren't beating their career highs in scoring (Hudler, Cleary).

Hudler has been pretty solid defensively if you would actually pay attention. He backchecks as hard as anyone, and in the Anaheim game he fought through two players to clear the puck. He's been very good on the PP, keeping the puck in the zone and setting up plays better than just about anyone the Wings have put out there. He had no chance on the Richards goal; look to Kronwall and Cleary for the issues on that play. As for his versatility... Hudler is probably one of a handful (at most) of players on the team capable of player center, both wings, and defense. I would call that versatile.

What Leino has over Hudler is size, speed, salary, and arrogance. Hudler is the more talented offensive player, the better defensive player, works hard unlike Leino, and is not an arrogant *******. Z was ninth in scoring last year with 80 points. He was 18 points ahead of Lidstrom (second largest gap between #1 and #2 on a team, Ovechkin's 20-point gap ahead of Backstrom being first) and he was 21 points ahead of Datsyuk (largest gap between a team's top two scoring forwards). He absolutely carried the team offensively while Datsyuk was out (or did you forget that Dats missed 26 games?) and should have been a Hart finalist last year. Leino succeeded in Philadelphia because he was playing with a top-end center in Danny Briere, and the Eastern Conference is easier for top-line players to put up quality offensive numbers in. His problem in Buffalo is that he was brought in to be "the guy" on his line. Isn't working out so well. I bet they miss Tim Connolly. He's more than capable of it; in the past six seasons he's been PPG or better four times, and was 0.95 the other two.

Answer: Eaves sat out the first game hurt, allowing Drew Miller into the lineup. Miller has since been playing well above his level. Cory Emmerton is playing solid hockey and has been all year; Eaves isn't a center so moving out Emmerton for Eaves means either no real center on the fourth line, no fourth line, or Abdelkader on the fourth line. Babcock wants none of those options. Best thing Eaves can do to get in the lineup and stay there? Learn to play center, and become a good faceoff man. He's got a good shot, good skating, good defense... it's not like he's a bad player. He's just on the wrong side of a close competition. If Emmerton and/or Miller start to play poorly every game, look for more Patty Eaves. Of course, he also has to contend with the mess that is Fabian Brunnstrom. Plenty of talent locked up in there. Hopefully he'll suddenly put it all together and give the Wings another weapon. If not, he's going back to GR when Mursak is off IR.

He started with Dats and Cleary. Early in the second game he was swapped with Z, who was centering Flip and Mule. He proceeded to hand Mule his first goal, and the line would go on a tear. But Huds' first point was with Datsyuk. http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2011020005

Yeah, because Fabian Brunnstrom is better to have on the roster than Hudler. Brings more. Even if your only motivation for waiving Hudler is getting a roster spot, waive Bruno; Hudler is better than him at everything except size and skating. Shooting, passing, defense, grinding, hitting, faceoffs, fighting. Hudler's even better at sitting in the press box. Carter isn't coming to Detroit. Avery was the kind of guy the Wings like, but was shipped out because of his character issues. Carter would be great to have, but he will not be a Wing unless he matures big time. Look somewhere else for a 30+ scorer. Out of last season's 30+ scorers, the most realistic ones I see are Grabner, Morrow, Vanek, and Moulson.

Murphy (on Franzen): "He had 35 (goals) last year, how many players do you see who reach that goal?" Not many. Only seven did it last year, and Franzen has never hit 35 in his career.

The big mistake he made was to go away from the puck to go after the body, instead of simply squeezing out the forechecker as Smith had at least a step or two on him. Get your body in front and get the puck! It doesn't matter if you hit the guy if they get a goal because of it!

Based on your logic, Jiri Hudler is the best player on the team. The Huds/Dats/Cleary line was the best line to start, but it was broken up because the second line didn't look good; he was switched with Z. So then, the Filppula/Franzen/Hudler line went on a tear. Washington game, Hudler was taken off that line. He gets moved to Helm's line, and suddenly everyone is talking about how great that line is doing, but Flip and Franzen aren't scoring anymore. Case closed.

I was thinking the other day; in Hudler's 2008-09 season he was very effective on the second PP unit. How did that PP unit go? The first unit was: Holmstrom/Datsyuk/Hossa, Lidstrom/Rafalski The second unit was: Franzen/Zetterberg/Hudler, Kronwall/Samuelsson. So why not take from that and do something like this: Bertuzzi(Holmstrom)/Datsyuk/Filppula Franzen/Zetterberg/Hudler Abdelkader/Helm/Cleary Holmstrom(Bertuzzi)/Emmerton/Miller(Eaves) Brunnstrom Run the top two lines, save for swapping Homer in for Bert, on the PP. Cleary and Bert work in up front. On D, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to go with Lids/Kronwall and rotate Kindl, Ericsson, and Smith on the second unit. Or maybe Lids/Smith, Kronwall/Kindl. But we know that the Franzen/Zetterberg/Hudler unit works very well on the PP; why not go back to it?