NeverForgetMac25

Dominant start. The boys look calm, which is something they need to be in a couple weeks.

NN, you never cease to amaze me. Those are the best pics of Z I've ever seen.

Easily the thread of 2008 thus far.

Friday: NY Islanders @ New Jersey NY Rangers @ Philadelphia Toronto @ Buffalo Washington @ Atlanta Minnesota @ Vancouver Anaheim @ San Jose Saturday: Colorado @ Edmonton Chicago @ Nashville Los Angeles @ Dallas Boston @ Montreal Toronto @ Ottawa Tampa Bay @ Florida Detroit @ Columbus New Jersey @ Pittsburgh Anaheim @ Phoenix Minnesota @ Calgary Sunday: St Louis @ Chicago NY Islanders @ Philadelphia

All of these are very clever!

He's a lock. As 12Newf pointed out, he's more than got the resume to be admitted, and will be.

That is funny.

I read something about this yesterday and it got me to thinking. This may be a weird situation because Cleary might give it a go tomorrow and then be off for Tuesday's game depending on how he feels after he has the orthodontics removed, and then play next Friday.

Or just a simple, "Gotta support the team."

No doubt he'd be very good with an offensive line, but even with that he wouldn't be the top back in the league. Top 10...sure, but not much more than that.

One can ony hope. That being said, this is exactly my point

I'm not refuting anything you said about Sammy, but you do realize that Sammy had been playing the point on the second PP unit with Kronwall until tonight.

That all sounds great and viable....but again, lets just hope he gets played against the bigger teams and is a fixture rather than a second fiddle.

Now that's very true.

And as NN pointed out Hudler played 6 playoff games last year compared to Filppula's 18. I'm sure there was ample PP time in those 12 games Hudler didn't get to aid the team on. Aside from saying, one season a trend does not make, what reason do I have to believe that Hudler will be a fixture on the second unit during these entire playoffs?

True, but its not like I'm just basing this on one playoff season....I'm basing it on almost two full years of Hudler being in Bab's lineup. I hope you're right about Hudler because he is a much better passer/playmaker than either Sammy or Fil, but again I was going by what I think Babs is deciding between, not what you or I want. That being said, maybe Bab's will roll this 2nd PP unit and make everyone "happy": Hudler-Filppula-Franzen Kronwall-Sammy

See my above comment. I agree that Hudler would be better with Filppula on the second unit with Franzen, and I completely agree about the instincts and talent of Z-Dats being out of the realm of possibility of Fil/Sammy, but I'm trying to stay realistic here. Does anyone believe that Babs is going to give Hudler a sniff of PP time in the playoffs regardless of the fact that he absolutely should be given that spot? I sure don't see it. I'm not playing the "what I think is best for the team" game....I'm playing the "this is what I see Babs deciding between" game.

Never once did I say they move the puck better than Hudler. What I did say is that "I didn't add Hudler since it doesn't seem he'll likely get a sniff of PP time in the playoffs", and I said that because once the playoffs begin Babs benches Hudler. While I don't agree with it, Babs has a history of benching Hudler after April 5th. Of course Hudler/Fil would compliment Franzen better than Fil/Sammy but I don't think Babs will realistically let it happen.....do you?

Why? Yeah, he makes poor shot decisions, but he and Flip would be closer to the *style of play* that Z/Dats exhibit on the PP. I'm looking for PP success and the best scenario for Franzen to continue his PP production. Inserting Cleary who plays a completely different game than Z or Dats do may affect the way Franzen has to play the PP and force him to move away from the net. He's showed he's at his most effective while planting in front of it. So if you want to give me a reason aside from "No Sammy. Please." that actually has substance, I'm all ears.

I'll take this one step further....Playoff PP Lines: 1st: Z-Dats-Homer Lids-Raf 2nd: Filppula-Sammy-Franzen Kronwall-Stewart With the level of play Franzen has showed on the PP while replacing Homer its hard not to give him the nod on the top 2 PP lines. The question is whether or not he'll be effective without playing with the other four around him (Z, Dats, Lids, Raf). I dropped Cleary off the second PP unit (and didn't add Hudler since it doesn't seem he'll likely get a sniff of PP time in the playoffs) simply because Flip and Sammy would be better at moving the puck while Franzen sets up shop. While Cleary works harder at digging the pucks out of the corners than Sammy does, Flip/Sammy would be more similar to Z/Dats than Flip/Cleary. Thoughts on this 2nd PP unit, anyone?

I know you were joking HC, but I would think the pinky on the non-shooting hand would be just as problematic as the thumb would be. Think about how many times hockey players (especially Dmen) out-stretch their stick and move it from side to side trying to poke a puck away. If you outstretched the stick and bent the wrist the toward the body, the pinky would be in a lot of pain. Now, to take this one step further.....if your going to break a finger you'd probably want it to be the ring or middle finger of the non-shooting hand. You heard it from NFM first! Going the extra distance to discuss and clarify any speculation.

I always wear Red Wings shirts to games in Chicago and Minnesota. I take a lot of heat in Chicago because they have horrible fans that say the nastiest sh*t outside of Philly. Most fans in Minnesota are great, and usually I'll find one fan at each game in Chi-town that has a legitimate hockey conversation with me rather than constantly saying "Detroit Sucks" every time I even open my mouth.

If there was 4 games left I may feel this way, but I don't want to see the Wings go into cruise control and relinquish the 1 seed to SJ. It's always important to go into the playoffs playing well and SJ is forcing the Wings to do exactly that.

Reseeded after each round. Highest plays the lowest.

As long as the 3 seed wins the opening round....but a date with the winner of Dallas/Anaheim in the second round isn't too appealing either (given the 6th seed "upsets" the 3rd seed). Edit: Clarity