Roster Changes For Game 4

[plymouthsam 0]

Detnews.com is reporting that head coach Mike Babcock may make some roster changes for Game 4. Just wanted to gage people's opinions on what changes they think should take place if any. In my opinion I would like to see the roster stay the same, I just wish Babcock would leave Zetterberg and Datsyuk together for most of the game. I know he splits them up on the road to avoid Nashville from matching up their checking line, but I just think having them on the same line is crutial. Also 97.1 had a topic regarding playing Osgood instead of Hasek in Game 4. I think this is ridiculous. Anyone that watched Game 3 knows the Wings just got outplayed, and beyond Arnott's goal, I think Hasek is playing well.

Edited April 16, 2008 by plymouthsam

[kylee 727]

yeah im not at all surprised that people are giving Hasek the raw end of the deal because the Wings lost. im kind of expecting that every time we will lose in this hopefully long playoff run. game 3 wasn't his fault.

as for roster changes, id sit Hartigan and put in Downey. i think its time to match Nashville and their physical presence, especially noticed in game 3 - really only in game 3.

[Superman54 91]

Lebda for Lilja....I don't mind that either considering Lilja has been, well sucking

[gcom007 1,465]

Give Lilja a day off to think about his play and see if he can get it together. He was, well, way better last year.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

No changes necessary. The Red Wings fell apart in game three as a collective unit because they sat on a lead far too early. It wasn't any one player's fault for the loss.

Lilja is still better than Lebda, despite some people wanting to pin every problem the Red Wings come across on him. Dom starts in goal, to suggest otherwise is nonsense.

The Red Wings will be fine. One loss is not the end of the world.

Edited April 16, 2008 by GoWings1905

[gcom007 1,465]

Well obviously the coach disagrees.

And I don't know what games you guys are watching, but the Wings haven't exactly been impressive this series. When they're as talented as they are they should be slaughtering the Predators but they've let them into every one. There are some serious holes. We most certainly will win this series, no doubt in my mind, but if we play like this against any other team moving forward, we're gonna get lit up.

[EuroTwinLove40 0]

I'd like to see ZDH together, atleast for most of the game. I, too, think Babs should let Downey play tomorrow, just to try and match the energy in Nashville.

[ProfessorLidstrom5 0]

These are the lineups I would use:

Dats - Z - Homer

Cleary - Franz - Hudler

Flip - Drapes - Sammy

Drake - Hartigan - Mac

Lids - Raf

Kronner - Stu

Chelios - Lebda

[umredwing11 2]

Any word on Maltby? The more this series goes on the more I notice his absence.

Until he returns, however, my only lineup change would be taking Hartigan out and putting Abdelkadar in. I just feel like that would be an upgrade energy-wise, and Abdelkadar plays a type of hockey that could better suit playing with Drake/Mac.

Edited April 16, 2008 by umredwing11

[wings_fanatic 677]

I liked the line-ups from game 1. No matter what, I think Z-D-H need to be together... the team seems to just play better. They see that line and they want to go out and be just as good... so i say go with the lines from game 1... and of course Dom in net...

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Well obviously the coach disagrees.

And I don't know what games you guys are watching, but the Wings haven't exactly been impressive this series. When they're as talented as they are they should be slaughtering the Predators but they've let them into every one. There are some serious holes. We most certainly will win this series, no doubt in my mind, but if we play like this against any other team moving forward, we're gonna get lit up.

It's the playoffs. Teams don't go out and "slaughter" opponents this time of year. The games are going to be close, and as long as the Red Wings win, who the hell cares what the score is? The powerplay could certainly be better, but that is the Red Wings biggest issue so far in the series. If the Red Wings don't sit on a one-goal lead, it could easily be 3-0 today. I'm guessing they learned their lesson, and it won't happen again.

All I said was I don't see one player that was responsible enough last night to get taken out of the lineup for game four. They fell apart as a team, but it will always come back as Dom's or Lilja's fault, regardless, when the Red Wings do lose.

[jdog19 0]

Well obviously the coach disagrees.

And I don't know what games you guys are watching, but the Wings haven't exactly been impressive this series. When they're as talented as they are they should be slaughtering the Predators but they've let them into every one. There are some serious holes. We most certainly will win this series, no doubt in my mind, but if we play like this against any other team moving forward, we're gonna get lit up.

Agree with the sentiment of this post, but not the exact details. I certainly don't think any team should be 'slaughtering' any other team in the playoffs (well...except the Sens maybe). But in general, the Wings haven't been playing up to their usual potential. Which is what makes it hard to think of adjusting lines after one loss. Teams that employ that strategy usually end up shooting themselves in the foot after a loss or two. Detroit had 82 games to figure out what will and won't work. Not time to significantly change things now. On the other hand, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not positive if these are the same lines we used during the final few games of the season, so a little adjusting may work better.

[Krystal 41]

I'd be in favor of benching Hartigan in favor of Abdelkader - if nothing else, based on the fact that I've witnessed Hartigan making some very poor mistakes and taking ridiculous penalties. Even if we've got skewed refs - all the calls on Hartigan have been legit.

[p_diddy_datsyuk_13 2]

mccarty needs to sit... we need size and toughness... sit hartigan or mccarty and add downey or abdelkader... he played well in his two game audition and could be very good with his size and physical play, and could play more minutes than downey

[elriqo28 2]

mccarty needs to sit... we need size and toughness...

I'm sorry, if are you saying Downey or Abdelkader are tougher than McCarty, you are mistaken my friend. Also throwing a kid right out of college into the playoffs over a guy who has won 3 stanley cups and has improved every game he's played isn't the smartest option. No Dis to Justin, but I'll take the experience over him, and as for Downey, the man is a part time enforcer that loses all his fights and never scores. He doesn't help in these tight games. Maybe take out Hartigan for Abdelkader but leave Mac in.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Lilja is still better than Lebda, despite some people wanting to pin every problem the Red Wings come across on him. Dom starts in goal, to suggest otherwise is nonsense.

Ericsson is a better choice than either of them right now.

Why? He's big, has a fantastic slapshot and would see it as a one game try out for the playoffs/regular-season. Look what happened with Quincy. He went from meh to a solid young defenseman in mind of many when he played in last year's playoffs.

Plus- hey, I'm an Ericsson fan

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

I dont know about changes that the coach will actually make but i for one have a few in mind.

Lilja played so well last year in playoffs (minus the selanne goal) he really impressed me. But so far this year not so much. I dont know if replacing Lebda for him would make it any better, but it would atleast make us a bit faster. We would loose a bit of Grit which is something we seem to need, so i dont see a change happening there.

As for Hartigan, hes a very good faceoff guy, so if we take him out we can expect to lose a few more faceoffs. However, by putting Downey in over him it helps our team play more physical which i think is exactly what we need right now especially playing in Nashville. The preds play a very hard and physical game, and it looked like it knocked us off our game last game, so having a guy like downey out there to push some of their guys around would be nice.

Now the change i would ABSOLUTELY MAKE is take out sammy for a game and put in Abdelkader in. Sammy doesnt have any grit in him. He pushes a little bit but wont get involved or lay any hits. Plus he hasnt been really productive offenseivly. I think Abdelkader can help us both offensiviely as well as adding some nice hits and Grit. Hes got some speed, can play a physical game, and has a rod Brindamor type appearance to him so he has a good scoring touch. I think he needs to get experience in the playoffs and i think putting him in for one game is a good way to get him that. They made this kid leave college a year early, you might as well let him play!

As for maltby, if he is back and fully healthy, you can scratch everything i said about putting Downey in for hartigan and replace hartigan with maltby!

I dont think hasek needs to be replaced quite yet, but if he goes on another streak where he lets in 2 goals in 11 or 9 seconds again well then we have to put ozzie in. The tougest position in sports to play is to play goalie for the detroit red wings. Our fans expect perfection, and if we dont get it we want your head! haha. I know alot of the goals werent his fault and our team kind of fell apart, but man i cant wait till we can get a goalie like ryan miller or a roberto luongo or someone like that who can save the game for us if our team is playing terrible. Goalies like Miller, luongo, kipper, they win alot of games for their teams when their teams arent playing their A games. Im not saying Hasek doesnt do that, he has on numerous ocassions, i just wish he was a bit more consistent. But as of right now he is our #1 guy and im behind him.....for now...

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

mccarty needs to sit... we need size and toughness... sit hartigan or mccarty and add downey or abdelkader... he played well in his two game audition and could be very good with his size and physical play, and could play more minutes than downey

McCarty is the definition of toughness.....not the biggest guy but he plays BIG. Needs to be i nthe lineup. sit hartigan and sammy for this game and put in Downey and Abdelkader. Need toughness and size like you said, but McCarty stays

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Ericsson is a better choice than either of them right now.

Why? He's big, has a fantastic slapshot and would see it as a one game try out for the playoffs/regular-season. Look what happened with Quincy. He went from meh to a solid young defenseman in mind of many when he played in last year's playoffs.

Plus- hey, I'm an Ericsson fan

He's big but i wish he would play like it! He doesnt seem to throw the weight around as much as i would like. But his shot is ten times better than Lilja so im with you on this one!

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Ericsson is a better choice than either of them right now.

Why? He's big, has a fantastic slapshot and would see it as a one game try out for the playoffs/regular-season. Look what happened with Quincy. He went from meh to a solid young defenseman in mind of many when he played in last year's playoffs.

Plus- hey, I'm an Ericsson fan

I agree man ... both Lilja and Lebda have some obvious major flaws. I like Ericsson as well, but his lack of NHL experience would be a big issue during the playoffs. Quincey played out of necessity, and yes he was very solid, in his limited ice time. Despite Lilja's mistakes, he does provide solid penalty killing and shot blocking ability. Lebda is simply fast, and doesn't offer a whole lot else. I would definitely rather see Babcock stick with Lilja, as opposed to giving Lebda a place in the lineup.

[CloudConnected 0]

mccarty needs to sit... we need size and toughness... sit hartigan or mccarty and add downey or abdelkader... he played well in his two game audition and could be very good with his size and physical play, and could play more minutes than downey

We need size and toughness, and you want to sit Mac? Crazy pills...

If anyone sits it has to be Hartigan for Abdelkader or Downey. I think we may need to counter with a little bit more toughness, and that's really the only logical spot for a tougher guy to go.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

I agree man ... both Lilja and Lebda have some obvious major flaws. I like Ericsson as well, but his lack of NHL experience would be a big issue during the playoffs. Quincey played out of necessity, and yes he was very solid, in his limited ice time. Despite Lilja's mistakes, he does provide solid penalty killing and shot blocking ability. Lebda is simply fast, and doesn't offer a whole lot else. I would definitely rather see Babcock stick with Lilja, as opposed to giving Lebda a place in the lineup.

Lebda is a good defensemen to have during the regualr season, and he gives you versatility atthe point, but in this round of playoffs he doesnt offer much. So i say stay with Lilja for his shot blocking or put in Ericsson for his size and shot. Lebda might be a good sub if we get into a matchup where we play a really fast team like minnesota or something, but most teams in the playoffs are going to be very girtty teams and he just wouldnt help with that.

[gcom007 1,465]

If the Wings played even close to their potential they'd be slaughtering the Preds. And by slaughter I don't mean 9-0, but 4-1, 5-1 games shouldn't be unusual on the way to a sweep. It's not even so much that we're that great, the Predators haven't even played that well! They're the weakest 8th seed team the playoffs have seen in recent memory. Their defense has been weak. Their offense has been weak. Their saving grace is their goalie and even he hasn't played as well as he did to get them into the playoffs.

And I'm not just saying this because we lost one. I've been saying this since game 1. I'm not saying we suck, but based on our guys, we've got the potential to go all the way. We're simply not even remotely living up to that potential right now. It's fine against Nashville, but they need to get some things straight before they play someone else or like I said, they'll get lit up. Hasek and our D won't know what hit them.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

If the Wings played even close to their potential they'd be slaughtering the Preds. And by slaughter I don't mean 9-0, but 4-1, 5-1 games shouldn't be unusual on the way to a sweep. It's not even so much that we're that great, the Predators haven't even played that well! They're the weakest 8th seed team the playoffs have seen in recent memory. Their defense has been weak. Their offense has been weak. Their saving grace is their goalie and even he hasn't played as well as he did to get them into the playoffs.

And I'm not just saying this because we lost one. I've been saying this since game 1. I'm not saying we suck, but based on our guys, we've got the potential to go all the way. We're simply not even remotely living up to that potential right now. It's fine against Nashville, but they need to get some things straight before they play someone else or like I said, they'll get lit up. Hasek and our D won't know what hit them.

Wow, you sound like your a reporter for ESPN or something.....haha im just kidding. We havent really played that well in this series, but i think we have played well enough in both games to beat the preds, unfortuantely we fall apart at the wrong time and it costs us. I agree we need to fine tune our game better or else we will get crushed no matter who we play next round (if we play well enough to get by the preds that is.....dont want to jinx us)

[umredwing11 2]

I guess I don't have so much of a problem with Lilja as everybody else. As much as he bothers me, I wouldn't pull him in favor over lots of speed, but no offensive abilities Lebda.

Like I said before, no offense to Hartigan but putting Abdelkadar on that fourth line totally changes the feeling of that line...Abdelkadar will go into the corners hard, throw his body around, and I want to see him in this kind of hard-hitting, grinding situation. He was great at the end of the season, and he deserves a shot based on that now. Worst case scenerio: he is invisible like Hartigan and we move on.