Secondary Scoring

[deker 0]

ATM yes. He is not doing what he should be.

Filppula is injured now, Cleary is healthy.

I like Cleary a lot, but he is not good player atm, his defensive play does not make up for the lack of scoring. And he had plenty of chances to score.

Aw, man...seriously? Yeah, it would be nice if Cleary got his touch back, but would you really rather have a defensive liability playing instead of Cleary?

[Reds4Life 51]

Aw, man...seriously? Yeah, it would be nice if Cleary got his touch back, but would you really rather have a defensive liability playing instead of Cleary?

And where did I post THAT Sir?

Cleary should be scoring. He is not. He had plenty of chances. A good ones.

He is good defensively, that's great. But still, 1 goal in 16! games? Too bad.

[deker 0]

And where did I post THAT Sir?

Cleary should be scoring. He is not. He had plenty of chances. A good ones.

He is good defensively, that's great. But still, 1 goal in 16! games? Too bad.

You didn't. I was trying to express that he still has more value in our lineup than out of it even without scoring. Maybe it's a dangerous thing to say, but as long as the goals are coming from somewhere, I don't have an issue with it as he brings more to the table. If we have to depend on Dan Cleary to score goals, then we are in a lot of trouble.

Edited to clarify.

Edited May 20, 2008 by deker

[VM1138 1,921]

Here is an interesting stat about depth. We've all heard how Pittsburgh has had so many players score goals and they're just so deep, right?

14 Players have scored goals for Detroit

14 Players have scored goals for Pitts

8 Players have 10+ Points for Detroit (9 if you count Sammy's 9 for being close)

5 Players have 10+ Points for Pitts, with no one with 9 points.

So, as far as depth goes, wouldn't it seem that Detroit has the edge statistically, and realistically, they're about even?

I don't see any advantage for the Pens on that front.

[Guest Crymson]

Because Cleary sucks. His injury is not excuse anymore.

I think you just made anything else you could say here invalid with this comment, but I'll respond to it anyway.

I suggest a plan of action for you: Go get your jaw shattered, get surgery, lose 10+ pounds of muscle, hit the ice immediately when you can in order to get your team 1st seed instead of recovering for several more weeks as would be normal, and then get right into playoff hockey without the aforementioned break for recovery and reconditioning.

We're better with a less-conditioned Danny than without any Danny at all, so he came back ASAP instead of taking the several months` further rest as would be usual in his condition. He also took the fast option of surgery over the slower, less-painful form so that he could hit the ice ASAP. Yes, his level of play is reduced, and this is for obvious reasons, and we should be grateful that he's on the ice at all and doing what he is.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Crymson

[Guest Crymson]

This team just made the SCF and people on here still find a way to ***** and moan and Player x sucks.

Grow up people, learn to enjoy the ride!!!!!!!!

Splendidly put.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

I think you just made anything else you could say here invalid with this comment, but I'll respond to it anyway.

I suggest a plan of action for you: Go get your jaw shattered, get surgery, lose 10+ pounds of muscle, hit the ice immediately when you can in order to get your team 1st seed instead of recovering for several more weeks as would be normal, and then get right into playoff hockey without the aforementioned break for recovery and reconditioning.

We're better with a less-conditioned Danny than without any Danny at all, so that's what he did. Yes, his level of play is reduced, and this is for obvious reasons. Shut your trap.

Great post man, perfectly said.

Saying Cleary sucks is just an overreaction, and quite frankly absurd.

[Reds4Life 51]

I think you just made anything else you could say here invalid with this comment, but I'll respond to it anyway.

I suggest a plan of action for you: Go get your jaw shattered, get surgery, lose 10+ pounds of muscle, hit the ice immediately when you can in order to get your team 1st seed instead of recovering for several more weeks as would be normal, and then get right into playoff hockey without the aforementioned break for recovery and reconditioning.

We're better with a less-conditioned Danny than without any Danny at all, so that's what he did. Yes, his level of play is reduced, and this is for obvious reasons. Shut your trap.

OK. I never posted we are worse with Dan than without him. He is still valuable player. But he needs to step it up. You know that too. Fortunately Hank and Pav are capable of providing enough scoring to win. Hudler and our dmen helped too.

Our last regular season game was on 6th April. Thats 6 weeks ago. He is in game shape by now for sure. He had his chances to score, he did not score, and not because of his injury. He is in scoring slump. That's it. He needs to play better. And he will. I hope.

He sucks may sound bit harsh, but still, he is able to play better. I do hope he prevails soon.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Reds4Life

[Opie 308]

I think you just made anything else you could say here invalid with this comment, but I'll respond to it anyway.

I suggest a plan of action for you: Go get your jaw shattered, get surgery, lose 10+ pounds of muscle, hit the ice immediately when you can in order to get your team 1st seed instead of recovering for several more weeks as would be normal, and then get right into playoff hockey without the aforementioned break for recovery and reconditioning.

We're better with a less-conditioned Danny than without any Danny at all, so he came back ASAP instead of taking the several months` further rest as would be usual in his condition. He also took the fast option of surgery over the slower, less-painful form so that he could hit the ice ASAP. Yes, his level of play is reduced, and this is for obvious reasons, and we should be grateful that he's on the ice at all and doing what he is.

Funny when the post season started I made a post very similar to this towards some one else.

The difference is I fibbed a little, unintentionally I said he lost 15 lbs, but other than that

SPOT ON POST!!!!!!

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Sammy's a scoring sensation...He's our Hossa

Isn't Flip supposed to be our Hossa? After all, we were unwilling to deal him in any kind of Hossa deal.

[deker 0]

Sammy's a scoring sensation...He's our Hossa

OK, does anyone else here get annoyed when they see Sammy on the ice? Someone tell me what I've been missing and why I shouldn't be annoyed when I see him out there.

[Guest Crymson]

Isn't Flip supposed to be our Hossa? After all, we were unwilling to deal him in any kind of Hossa deal.

Are you familiar with the concept of the future? Apparently Holland and the GM over at the Thrashers both are.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Are you familiar with the concept of the future? Apparently Holland and the GM over at the Thrashers both are.

Only what I learned from Back to the Future.

But I also know that Hossa is a playoff choker, and Flip is the future of our team, supposedly.

[Frozen-Man 144]

How long it has been? He had great scoring chances in game 5. He could not get it past Turco.

He is in a slump for sure.

Robidas played with "piece of thick plastick obstructing his view" too. And he was one of the best, if not the best, Stars' dmans.

Yeah but he wasn't out forever like Cleary was and didn't have his jaw wired shut or lose 20 or how many ever pounds it was, there was a huge difference in their injuries.

[Guest Crymson]

OK. I never posted we are worse with Dan than without him. He is still valuable player. But he needs to step it up. You know that too. Fortunately Hank and Pav are capable of providing enough scoring to win. Hudler and our dmen helped too.

Our last regular season game was on 6th April. Thats 6 weeks ago. He is in game shape by now for sure. He had his chances to score, he did not score, and not because of his injury. He is in scoring slump. That's it. He needs to play better. And he will. I hope.

He sucks may sound bit harsh, but still, he is able to play better. I do hope he prevails soon.

No, I do not "know it." In order to quickly return to the ice, Dan chose a harsher surgery with a shorter recovery time over a less severe surgery with an easier recovery time. He hit the ice ASAP. Since then, he has been subject to the travails of brutal playoff hockey. Jaw surgery sucks. It almost always entails weight loss on a very significant scale, given that one's diet consists entirely of liquid for much of the recovery period (needless to say, one also is incapable of aerobic and anaerobic activity during the recovery period). For athletes, who generally have very little body fat, the loss of weight means almost exclusively loss of muscle. Danny lost ten pounds. It's very difficult to build muscle during the season; games and practices are simply too energetically exhausting to the body for muscle building to be accomplished on any significant scale. You will notice that players add muscle during the offseason, not during the season.

Danny lost over ten pounds of muscle and an enormous amount of cardiovascular conditioning during his recovery from his surgery. The muscle will take him the offseason to gain back, and to reach 100% hockey conditioning in general will require that much time as well. The team and Danny himself have acknowledged this fact. That Dan has taken his place in the lineup during this playoff year after his ordeal with surgery is a testament to his self-drive, work ethic and ability to play through enormous adversity. We should feel lucky to have him at all, rather than having the expectations for him that you have.

Not to sound arrogant, but I'll excuse you the comments you've made here given that it's clear you're ignorant of what shattering of the jaw and the ensuing surgery and recovery period entail for the human body.

Edited May 20, 2008 by Crymson

[Packer487 3]

Can someone please explain why? Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstrom have scored 23 of our 55 goals (41%). Malkin, Sykora and Malone have 19 of their 51 (37%). Is that supposed to be a big difference?

With Franzen in the lineup and performing at the level that he has performed at since March, it's not an issue. When you add a goal per game guy to the second line, there's no issue with secondary scoring. But with Franzen out of the lineup, ZDH combine for 23 of our 43 goals, or 53% (or 63% if you include Lidstrom and Rafalski and "primary scorers").

That's a lot of pressure to put on Zetterberg and Datsyuk. I think it's pretty clear that an impact guy on the second line (like Franzen has been) really provides a boost to the team.

Luckily, Datsyuk and Zetterberg have stepped up in a big way--as has the team defense and Osgood--so it might not matter.