Wings_Dynasty 267 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) I know we are on a roll with the roster we got, and I would be fine with it if the lines are the same in Game 3. But I have a small suggestion for a 4th line next game: Mac-Drake-Downey Hartigan hasn't been good and he hasn't been bad. I want to see Downey in simply because the Preds will be running around a lot more in their own building, as much as they need to score goals to win the series, they will hit more in front of their fans. Drake, Mac, Franz, Kronner, and Stuart have done great so far in the physical department. But on ice where the Preds will have more of an advantage with line changes I think we should have as many crash and bangers in the lineup as possible. Tootoo is much more dangerous a hitter at home, and Hordichuk is the same. Having more than 1 legit fighter on the ice will probably keep the charging down and the Wings stars more comfortable. But at the same time, I realize that Hartigan is more of a scoring threat than Downey. So I can understand if he doesn't play, but to take Mac out in exchange for Downey would be a mistake, he is getting better and better and does provide an edge. Downey with Drake and Mac may be a force to be reckoned with in the hitting department. Thoughts or other suggestions? Edited April 13, 2008 by Wings_Dynasty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteLightning91 105 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 No reason to change the line-up now. If anything, split Z and Datsyuk on the road so we can have one of those two out against each of Nashville's "scoring" lines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chase 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Don't fix it if it ain't broken. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skiing - Puck 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I would love to see Downey on a line with Mac and Drake, but I just do not see it happening unless someone gets hurt between now and the game on Monday night. I think Downey is not going to get much if any ice time in the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoWings1905 2,694 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) I'm fine with keeping the lines the same in Nashville. The Drake/Hartigan/Mac line was very good today. I don't see much reason at all to bench any of those guys. By no means are the Predators overwhelming the Red Wings from a physical standpoint, so playing Downey isn't really necessary. The only change I expect to see is Pavel and Z split up at times. Edited April 13, 2008 by GoWings1905 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I don't think we'll see any lineup changes until Maltby is ready to play. Mac has been playing well, so I bet Hartigan will sit when Malts is back. I doubt we'll see Downey this playoffs, unless there's a few injuries. We've got enough size and strength without him anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real1 2 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I personally think that the last 3 lines could use a mix up though. Here are my thoughts.... hank/pavel/homer sammy/drapes/mule cleary/val/drake mac/abadaker/downey just my thoughts though........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kylee 727 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) ^ you want samuelsson playing on the 2nd line as a top six forward over dan cleary? why? are you a Preds fan in disguise? (kidding!) Edited April 13, 2008 by kylee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedLightGoesOn 81 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 yeah...Splitting Z and Dats will throw a monkey wrench in Trotz plans. Now that Franzen has shown us he can do the dirty work two, plus homer back just being all over the place, Babcock has a lot of options open to him.... I expect that he would make a couple of line changes just so he can out-couch Trotz and win at least 1 in Nashville. Oh yeah, and perhaps changing PP unit? dunno maybe make a small change and see if that can get it working for us... we really need PP goals, especially when we are on the road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamaica Jon 1 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) I think Babs will split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk since we're on the road and don't get last change. I don't think this is a bad idea. I would be fine either split up or not. Personally I would like to see the following, but I doubt it will happen: Filppula - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Franzen - Zetterberg - Samuelsson Cleary - Draper - McCarty (loved Malts-Drapes-Cleary last year!! great chemistry and energy & having Sammy here wouldn't work) Drake - Hartigan/Abdelkater/Helm/Any Griffin really - Downey scratch Hudler, hasn't been worth much lately imo... doesn't belong on line 1 or 2, and doesn't fit on 3 or 4. EDIT: Obviously Sammy is not our 6th best forward. I was going more for putting the best complete lines together. I considered chemistry over most other factors. I also tried to balance out the power. I don't think throwing the best 6 forwards onto lines 1 and 2 is necessarily the best way to go. Edited April 13, 2008 by Jamaica Jon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real1 2 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) ^^^ No that was my mistake. That should be dano over sammy. I didnt even see that i did that. I typed in these lines in about 5 min so I am suprised I only made one mistake. Sorry for the confusion.(and i really am a preds fan in disguise)kidding! Edited April 13, 2008 by Real1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I think splitting up Dats and Z on the road is a good idea as well, but just for 5 on 5. I'd put them back together on the PP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamaica Jon 1 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I think splitting up Dats and Z on the road is a good idea as well, but just for 5 on 5. I'd put them back together on the PP. Yeah definitely. I forgot about that. D-Z-H on PP#1 for SURE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Put Sammy on the 4th line with Downey and Drake, and put the Grind line back together. Hudler can play if someone (god forbid) gets injured. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skacore 2 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Filppula Zetterberg Holmstrom Franzen Datsyuk Samuelsson Cleary Draper Drake Hudler Abdelkader McCarty Split the scoring a bit on the top 6, get Cleary back into workhorse mode like he was in last year's playoffs, Hudler on the 4th line giving it a little creativity on offense and ride Abdelkader's adrenaline rush until he shows the team that he can't play a high tempo, responsible crash and bang game. Hartigan has been hitting but that isn't his game, I'd rather have someone who is more comfortable and familiar in that role. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Majsheppard 203 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 huh skacore, my former best friend used that handle... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Third Man In 2,091 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Don't mess with a thing until Malts comes back. I've been a fan all year of splitting up ZDH for offensive balance, but I really believe in the Flip-Dano-Mule line. They are ready to click--especially once Flip and Dano get a goal and get some confidence back--and they are a big line that can play against anyone. Drake-Drapes-Mac was our best line in the first period. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daniel1 32 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 If anything, we want to make sure our 4th line isn't a defensive liability heading into Nashville seeing as how Trotz has last change and would surely take advantage of any defensively weak line we would put out. Playing Downey with Mac would definitely make our 4th line pretty weak against a top offensive line. I think keeping Z with Dats gives us our best chance to score regardless of who Nashville puts out against them so I see no reason to split them up. It might be a different story if they had a real strong shut-down line like Paulson/Niederwhiner/Moen, but for the most part I haven't seen any one of Nashville's lines do a great job of shutting anyone down. I really like Franzen's play on that second line though but Cleary and Flip need to step it up a notch and produce on the road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superman54 91 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Flippula - Dats - Holmstrom Cleary - Zetterberg - Franzen Hudler - Draper - Sammy Drake - Hartigan - McCarty Thats my preferance for games 3 and 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nev 1,085 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I think he's going to split D&Z, but I would keep that 3rd line of Huds/Draper/Sammy together as they've been pretty good so far. What concerns me that most is that our 2pp unit was flat out awful last night. No pressure, unable to establish in the offensive zone, players getting in each others way. They looked like a bunch of strangers out there. Aside from that PP in the 1st period the 1st unit looked dominant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nkuehnl 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) I would reassemble the Filppula-Datsyuk-Cleary and Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Franzen lines for the road match-ups, but that's about it. Hudler-Draper-Samuelsson has been doing well, for whatever reason (Hudler and Samuelsson cancel each other out, maybe) and McCarty-Hartigan-Drake was our absolute best line in the 1st period. Why sit Hartigan when he was integral to the Mac goal? You don't punish guys that are doing well, and that's practically our whole line-up right now. Nashville has scored 1 goal at the fault of our skaters (Hudler mishandled a pass, Lilja lost his man, Tootoo scores a dribbler past Hasek) while the other 2 goals were fluky playoff goals that you can't blame on anyone. They're doing well, so I don't see a reason to mess with that. What concerns me that most is that our 2pp unit was flat out awful last night. No pressure, unable to establish in the offensive zone, players getting in each others way. They looked like a bunch of strangers out there. Aside from that PP in the 1st period the 1st unit looked dominant. Our 2nd PP has been awful for the whole season. I'm always surprised that they've never split Rafalski and Lidstrom up on the PP. 2 quarterbacks is nice but the simple fact is that Kronwall, Stuart, and Samuelsson are incapable of running their own unit. ZDH + Lidstrom/Kronwall and Cleary/Filppula/Franzen + Rafalski/Stuart makes more sense to me, but I don't know that I'd change that either given where we are. Edited April 13, 2008 by nkuehnl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 ZDH + Lidstrom/Kronwall and Cleary/Filppula/Franzen + Rafalski/Stuart makes more sense to me, but I don't know that I'd change that either given where we are. Why would you take Hudler off the second unit? He's easily the best playmaker playing on it...without him it would be significantly worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tweekvp 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 [ Flippula - Dats - Holmstrom Cleary - Zetterberg - Franzen Hudler - Draper - Sammy Drake - Hartigan - McCarty Thats my preferance for games 3 and 4 I would not mind seeing this at all. I think Flip isn't quite ready to center one of the top two lines. He was very impressive earlier in the season when playing wing for Dats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greatness=PavelDatsyuk 65 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 I think, unless the Predators get the lead, we won't see Dats and Zetterberg together Thats the way Babcock's done it all year, and it's worked, so he won't see a need to change it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real1 2 Report post Posted April 13, 2008 Looking back on my post and thinking that I have it all wrong. After thinking about it here is what I believe the lines should be. Val/Pavel/Homer Cleary/Hank/Mule Mac/Drapes/Drake Sammy/Abadaker/Downey Lids/Raffi Nik/Stuart Lilly pads/Cheli Note that this is my 2nd try at the lines when I can actually think straight. Not a try that is not a 12:30 in the morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
