Thoughts on Bertuzzi after first game as a Wing?

[SuperCalaFilppulastic! 34]

As a first game back, it was pretty impressive. Anyone that expected goals and assists were surely going to be disappointed regardless. He is going to get better each game. The look on his face everytime he was on the bench was great. You could tell he was just itching to get back on the ice after every shift. The fire is definitely still burning.

Also, I was definitely worried when he was missing on the bench for a little while. Thank God it was nothing!

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

He seemed very slow to me, but that was mostly the first period. I admire Babcock for

throwing him out there in the shootout. Nice move too, just a touch high, EASILY beat

the goalie. It's just comforting to see that huge dude in a Wings jersey.. When he was mucking a bit in the corners, or even just skating past Homer, he just seemed enormous! And I don't think Homer is real small either.. (not too sure)

*all you regulars, forgive my GDT-bashing please, I was pissed off after the game, naturally.

6' 0", 200 lbs.

[dicksmack 33]

why put Homer and Bertuzzi together?

Perhaps it was just for his debut game, to be on the top line, and out of respect for Homer. I'm sure Babcock knows their roles overlap too much.

[wingslogo19 281]

Well i was glad to see bert crash the net hard on that one rush

[Naslund19 0]

When they interviewed him, he seemed ready and anxious to play, but at the same time nervous after not playing for quite a while due to surgery AND dressed up in the Winged Wheel. Overall I think he played just fine. Throwin' his body around crashing the net, etc. That move he pulled in the shootout totally had Norenna beat just got the puck up a bit too high.

Oh, and it was quite funny when Cheli shot the puck up and caught him under the chin. "Cheli, we're on the same team now!"

Edited March 23, 2007 by Naslund19

[poxer 0]

He's somewhere are 6`2" and 240lbs but that doesn't matter. I loved his first game back, I've been a Bert fan for awhile now, and I'm glad that he played so many shifts. He played a solid first game and its a shame he didn't score on his shoot out attempt. Stupid cross bar. But other than that he played a good solid game for a guy that has missed around 4 months of hockey. I also loved that he ran over Norrena.

[Viperar 16]

Hey guys, we've seen it on these forums and I think it speaks for most wings fans, we're pretty picky when it comes to our team and I am sure he knows that, and coming back after not skating from october, i think he did fantastic. The chemistry will mix, look how fast calder jumped in on the team

[CUJO#31 0]

Hey guys, we've seen it on these forums and I think it speaks for most wings fans, we're pretty picky when it comes to our team and I am sure he knows that, and coming back after not skating from october, i think he did fantastic. The chemistry will mix, look how fast calder jumped in on the team

I agree. I think one of my favorite parts of this process is watching how new players work themselves into the chemistry. Very cool stuff to watch.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I like how Bertuzzi's game picked up as things went along, but I absolutely cant understand the what Babcock is thinking. First, why put Homer and Bertuzzi together? Let Bertuzzi be the big winger and put some speed on the other side. Lastly, why is Babcock so adamant (as he said last night) about putting Bertuzzi with Lang once Zetterberg gets back? I think Bertuzzi and Lang would be a disaster defensively, and Lang just doesnt move his feet enough to create anything.

I thought the same thing. And not to mention, Bert is CLEARLY more comfortable playing the RW than the LW, yet Babs put Homer on the RW when Homer can lace up in either position easily.

I think Bert with Clearly would be a good idea. As far as Im concerned....

GET LANG OFF THE SECOND LINE!!!

When they interviewed him, he seemed ready and anxious to play, but at the same time nervous after not playing for quite a while due to surgery AND dressed up in the Winged Wheel. Overall I think he played just fine. Throwin' his body around crashing the net, etc. That move he pulled in the shootout totally had Norenna beat just got the puck up a bit too high.

Oh, and it was quite funny when Cheli shot the puck up and caught him under the chin. "Cheli, we're on the same team now!"

Thats the crazy part. A double-whammy doesnt happen like this often. You come back from being off for four months...to a completely new team!! Thats gotta be a hard adjustment.

[esteef 2,679]

I thought the same thing. And not to mention, Bert is CLEARLY more comfortable playing the RW than the LW, yet Babs put Homer on the RW when Homer can lace up in either position easily.

Agree 100%. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. Bert's chemistry will take a little while but make it easier on him by putting him in a familiar position. Especially one where he excels.

esteef

[Inultus 12]

As others have metioned, I don't think there's any reason to have Bert and Homer on the same line.

I'm the same size as Homer (6', 200 lbs.) and I also screen the goalie and deflect shots like he does.

I don't need or want another big screener on my line, and if we have someone else like that then put him on the second line.

I agree with Babs about putting Bert on the second line once Zets is back. Overall Bert looked uncomfortable at first, and pretty darn good at the end.

Also, SuperCalaFilppulastic! I love your av, what was the name of that show again? The main guy who was the co-announcer in Dodge Ball cracks me up, as does the brother who is in your av.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Inultus

[rwfan007 18]

I'm just glad he finished the game healthy.

for the most part... lol

I also think he was put on the wrong line. I don't think he was ready to play with Datsyuk. Most of the time first line seemed somewhat disorganized. Homer losing scoring touch did not help either. Then again Bert was skating and hitting and digging for the puck so not a bad showing after not playing for 6 months.

Dats not having assists in last 3 games is not a healthy sign.

because he has score ALL of the goals in the last 3 games. If no one is going to chip in Pav is going to do it himself. He knows he can undress everyone on the other team, so he is just TCB on his own until someone else wants to come in and remember that goals are good.

[Wingsfan31 0]

Also, SuperCalaFilppulastic! I love your av, what was the name of that show again? The main guy who was the co-announcer in Dodge Ball cracks me up, as does the brother who is in your av.

The show was "Arrested Development", IMO one of the greatest shows no one really watched. The actor's name in the video is Will Arnett, the guy you refer to in dodge ball I believe was Jason Bateman. One of the greatest lines ever came from the brother-in-law, Tobias, explaining that he had painted himself to be a stand-in for the "Blue Man Group", "Michael, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little dizzy because I just blue myself". The look on Jason Bateman's face was priceless as he replied, "Yeah, you might want to consider rephrasing that in the future." What a classic show.

[Airborn 0]

He and Homer should be separated on the pp and in general

Agreed. They play too similar a game. I think the only reason they were together is Babcock wanted to get Bert some confidence going by playing him with Dats, who is our best playmaker. In the future, Bert should be on the 2nd line.

As for his game last night, he looked rusty early on (as expected), but got better as they game went on. He showed really soft hands on his rush to the net and during the shootout. He wasn't overly physical, but he made his presense known a few times. Overall, it was a good first game for somebody whose been out almost all year.

[Inultus 12]

The show was "Arrested Development", IMO one of the greatest shows no one really watched. The actor's name in the video is Will Arnett, the guy you refer to in dodge ball I believe was Jason Bateman. One of the greatest lines ever came from the brother-in-law, Tobias, explaining that he had painted himself to be a stand-in for the "Blue Man Group", "Michael, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little dizzy because I just blue myself". The look on Jason Bateman's face was priceless as he replied, "Yeah, you might want to consider rephrasing that in the future." What a classic show.

LOL, yeah, I remember the Blue Man episode. That show was great. I loved when his brother went to prison to pull off a magic trick and Jason had to come get him with the ladder truck. The mother was perfect in her part as well.

I also loved Tobias (David Cross) in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, although I disagree with him wholeheartedly on politics. Sorry mods, I'm not trying to derail the thread!

Go Bertuzzi, he's one of my favorite Wings now!

[Airborn 0]

GET LANG OFF THE SECOND LINE!!!

Say Babcock comes to the same conclusion; who centers the 2nd line? Filppula; or do you split up Datsuk and Zatta?

Personlly, I would go with Filppula. He's shown himself to be better defensively than Lang, yet he still has enough offensive skills to get the job done on the second line. His speed would definitely be an assett on 2nd line, especially since neither Calder nor Bertuzzi are burners. Also, you don't lose the magic that Datsuk and Zatta have together on the top line.

The question then is, are you comfortable with our 2nd line center being a rookie whose averaged around 11 minutes per game so far this year?

[RedRum #1 0]

Say Babcock comes to the same conclusion; who centers the 2nd line? Filppula; or do you split up Datsuk and Zatta?

Personlly, I would go with Filppula. He's shown himself to be better defensively than Lang, yet he still has enough offensive skills to get the job done on the second line. His speed would definitely be an assett on 2nd line, especially since neither Calder nor Bertuzzi are burners. Also, you don't lose the magic that Datsuk and Zatta have together on the top line.

The question then is, are you comfortable with our 2nd line center being a rookie whose averaged around 11 minutes per game so far this year?

Babcock would NEVER demote Lang to a 4th line center spot unless Lang became such a liability that he had no choice. Having said that, if you gave me a choice as to who I'd rather center Bertuzzi and Calder in the playoffs I'd take Flip.

[WendelClark 0]

Bert only had the one good drive to the net where he cleaned the goalie. Other than that, you can see his physical abilities, but looked pretty rusty. Im just glad hes back now so he hopefully has enough time to be playing all out come playoffs.

[FinWing 26]

Personlly, I would go with Filppula. He's shown himself to be better defensively than Lang, yet he still has enough offensive skills to get the job done on the second line. His speed would definitely be an assett on 2nd line, especially since neither Calder nor Bertuzzi are burners. Also, you don't lose the magic that Datsuk and Zatta have together on the top line.

I'd give Flip a chance, I'm slowly but surely starting to hate Lang since he keeps testing my patience. No matter if he's had some more points in the last ten games, he's still so goddamn lazy.

[daniel1 32]

I would like to see him on a different line...

I thought the same thing. And not to mention, Bert is CLEARLY more comfortable playing the RW than the LW, yet Babs put Homer on the RW when Homer can lace up in either position easily.

I think Bert with Clearly would be a good idea. As far as Im concerned....

GET LANG OFF THE SECOND LINE!!! TEAM.

Thats the crazy part. A double-whammy doesnt happen like this often. You come back from being off for four months...to a completely new team!! Thats gotta be a hard adjustment.

I had to make an alteration to your post... he is so slow and lazy it hurts to watch lately.

[wingsfan979802 0]

kind of weird. a topic on bertuzzi and there was 44 posts on the topic.

i thought he looked a little out of place in the first couple of shifts. his shootout move was so close of going in to. he got a big applase when he first touched the puck and when he ran into norena. was worried when he didn't come back in the second. good to see holstrom leave his place in front of the net to go get the puck, and bertuzzi took his place.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Bertuzzi played very good in my opinion last night. He wasn't afraid to deliver checks when he seen guys coming, and he wasn't afraid to drive the net either.

I also like the standing ovations he got after going to the net and before his shootout attempts. That was pretty cool seeing that.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

He looked great to me...skated pretty well and was moving around nicely. He'll find himself fitting in nicely with this offense pretty soon I think.

[OsGOD 3]

Here is his opening faceoff... the video ends as he is gets crushed. He is the upper left player (left wing)

Edited March 23, 2007 by OsGOD

[datsyukfan2000 0]

He looked pretty good, looks like he was feeling out where his teammates are out on the ice, it looks like Dats was pretty quickly getting used to where Big Bert was at. It was amusing to see Bert and Homer both park in front of the net, I swear a few times I couldn't see Norrena.

I think Babcock should have tried Flip a few times in Homers spot on the first line.