Drake_Marcus

ZETTERBERG *****! Eat it Elis haters!

I've seen the Wings play half-assed before. I've never seen them create ghost penetlies due to tiredness.

You know- I hate sounding like a homer. But after that last BS call on Filppula (you know- the one where TWO Ducks could have been legitimately called instead of a phantom trip on Filp) I have to say this: Shouldn't those refs being wearing Anaheim jerseys?

Come-on boys! Let's work on those special teams!

What's to stop Chris Chelios from kicking your ass for doubting him? Nothing!

Dear baby jebus- please make Zetterberg score off Datsyuk tonight. That is all. Well actually, please make him score at least once off Datsyuk tonight. Really, we need about 3 points from Z tonight

Go CLEARY! Get back to playoff form buddy!

Careful now- you sound like a retard. Hudler had 15 goals and 10 assits in 76 games last year averaging 4th line mins while Filppula had 10 goals and 7 assits in that same time frame. In the playoffs Hudler managed two helpers in 6 games while Filppula had 3 goals and two helpers in 18 games (for the overall pooer scoring rate). Saying Hudler doesn't belong in the NHL is not just retarded, it's super-retarded.

If I remember correctly Selanne said good things about Flippula recently.

Anyone else read that wrong?!?

Whats stopping Chelios from centring a Hudler Filppula line? Nothing!

thanks baby jebus! ahhh guys- I think Zetterberg might end up having a good year....

Yeah, it's a good thing every trophy a goalie can win in the NHL is availible via mail-order.

Agreed. You just shouldn't rush goalies. The NHL switched the goal to Dats off Z. Thanks baby jebus!

Hey! Don't listen to her Drapes- I think you're a perfectly fine height. Anyone else surpised Downey hasn't had some PIM yet? This is his first chance to really make a regular season impression... hopefully he keeps the rest of the boys from getting pushed around.

Thanks baby jebus! Although, if we're being sticklers- I did say Dats off Z. But hey- Z off Dats is a fine start. Let's try and get Dats a couple of goals, ok?

Good point. Please baby jebus make Dats score off Z on their next shift. Then please make it happen 3 or 4 more times tonight. Thanks!

Please baby jebus make Dats score off Z!

Zetterberg is 6th, with Alfredson above him in 5th place, tied for points but Alfie with 2 more goals and 2 less assists. Alfredson, however, has played 2 more games than Z, and as such should really be ranked lower. But that's how nhl.com has them stacked. Dats is 121st, although he's got the 4 helpers in 5 games while Kubina has 4 in 6 and is in 113th place. *sigh* I ******* hate when the stats lists puts someone with equal points in fewer games under someone who did it in more games. I know goals are more important, so I can see why in the same situation a player who scored more goals in the same number of games sits higher up, but in the end points per game is important too! Edit: Hagman is 12th overall, with 7pts in 6 games. I'm assuming you based your stats up there on the goals list and not the points list.

That's really not what Babcock seems to want and honestly it shouldn't be. Filppula isn't a sniper- he's a playmaker. There's no point in grooming him to be a secondline sniper/scorer type since that's not where his talent lies. He's a great defensive player with good eyes, hockey sense and playmaking ability. Many consider him a player in Zetterberg's mold but I disagree. Zetterberg's always had fantastic finishing ability- he's usually going to score more goals then assists because of this. While Zetterberg is a great faceoff man and fantastic 2-way player, he's definitely got the hands of a finisher! Datsyuk is a pass first player with great vision and playmaking ability. While he does have fantastic hands and is arguably the best one-on-one stickhandler in the league, he's also a damn good defensive player (something Dats is given far too little credit for). I see Filp as being more in Datsyuk's mold. Datsyuk is inherently less of a finisher than Zetterberg if only because his first instinct is to pass. In Datsyuk's case I think the lack of finishing ability is far less about "ability" and far more about psychology. Dats can be trained to be a pure goalscorer, sure, he's damn talented with a puck, but that's really not a smart use of him. If a hockey player is supremely talented at playmaking it's a waste of time to try and break him of that and remold him as a player. That's why while Dats talks about needing to shoot more, I'm sure he's not planning on changing the fact that he's usually got a s***-ton of assists in addition to having a very respectable goal total. You need a talented playmaker to keep the snipers going. In the end I think Filppula is a Datsyukian player with less stickhandling ability and more natural defensive poise. This defensive awareness is probably what draws all the comparisons to Zetterberg, but his lack of finishing skills really makes it hard for me to think of Filppula as a Zetterberg type. The real goal here, and reason why Hudler started out on the second line with Z and not Filppula, is to make Filppula as a sucessful first or second line playmaking pivot, and Hudler a top-six snipping winger. Edit: I think the emphesis on getting Filppula to shoot more stems from the fact that all playmaking centres still need to know when to shoot and not pass. That's a key difference between the first line centre and second line centre- the ability to know when to shoot first and not hesitate looking for the pass.

Ducks guy kicks ass!

I dunno. Unlike the goalie protection issues, the NHLPA is likely to side with protecting the players as much as possible from harm. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I think they'd do what they could to curb the head injuries. In all honesty it'd be nice to have a panel of scientists come into one of their meetings and explain just how lucky the NHL is to not have had an instance of serious brain injury so far with these hits.

That's hilarious. Luckily the entire hockey world considers Yzerman part of the elite category. Not surprising given that the big three in the 80's and 90's were Gretzky, Mario and Yzerman. Those two men were the only peers Yzerman had. It's funny that you might actually believe the drivel you just spouted. Sad, but funny. Edit: I should have ignored that troll, but s*** that post was just too retarded to pass up. If you used proper capitalization and punctuation you'd definitely be in my top ten posters

Draper is worth 1.6 million a year. No problem. He had the best faceoff percentage in the league last year and is still a fantastic penalty killer. Hell, he'd be worth a million just to sit with the younger guys and pass on his work ethic and leadership skills.