No hank love for the ducks series?

[Phazon 24]

sure zetterberg can play better, but i thought he had a good series.

If he puts that pass after the ice it would been intercepted by that ducks player. Pretty sneaky move imo.

[betterREDthandead 58]

If Hank had been the one making that pass over the net, I'd be more willing to give him credit for it.

[Phazon 24]

If Hank had been the one making that pass over the net, I'd be more willing to give him credit for it.

over the net? why would he do that, I am lost here.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Phazon

[Wombat 26]

Hank played really well this series but needs to step up in scoring goals with a goalie actually on the ice! His defense was great and he had some excellent passes/setups/puck control going all series long.

[RyanK 1]

I'd like to see some more production from him. Im well aware of how good he is but with his lacking performaces on this national stage only us homers know about the real hank.

By the way, you can fill in with dats and hossa as well.

[high_stick69 7]

sure zetterberg can play better, but i thought he had a good series.

If he puts that pass after the ice it would been intercepted by that ducks player. Pretty sneaky move imo.

Hank DID have a great series. He was very tough defensively and helped shut the Ducks down. Babs put him on a line that didn't really play to his offensive strength but his defensive strength. Hank and Dats have great chemistry with each other, but not as good chemistry with the linemates they were with in this series. (imho of course) When Hank and Dats don't light up the score sheet, everyone is asking for more and its understandable given their ability to light the lamp, but people need to realize they are more than just goal scorers and that defense wins championships.

[jollymania 162]

he seemed like a more offensively productive datsyuk out there although he wasn't getting checked as closely

[stevkrause 1,247]

he played stellar and another guy that really deserves his dues is Hudler...

[dat's sick 1,002]

Hank is the man.

Great shift and nice pass on the SWG.

His defense on those 5-on-3's in Game 7 was unbelievable.

14 points in 11 games. If I'm not mistaken he has atleast a point in every game so far except for one.

I have no complaints whatsoever about Z, and he just seems to be getting better.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

He was the only elite player to play elite. He doesnt get praise because we've come to expect it from Z. His penalty killing last night was something else though, holy mackeral!

[Red4wings4life 0]

I'd like to see some more production from him. Im well aware of how good he is but with his lacking performaces on this national stage only us homers know about the real hank.

By the way, you can fill in with dats and hossa as well.

Man some of you so called "hockey" fans need to learn that point production does not equal a good player. Zetterberg played a GREAT GAME yesterday. Killed both 5 on 3s and the 4 on 3. Blocked shots, won the battles for the puck. Made good passes, setup the gaming goal by winning a battle in the corner. I could not ask for anything more.

I am sick of hearing all this s*** about not producing. Please learn hockey before making stupid comments like the one above.

Hockey is more then scoring points. Dats had a good series to, sure he did not score be he forced the ducks to watch him closely which made room for others to step up. Dats had enough scoring chances to make me happy, he is not able to put the puck in the net. That will come as long as he keeps playing like he is playing.

[RyanK 1]

Man some of you so called "hockey" fans need to learn that point production does not equal a good player. Zetterberg played a GREAT GAME yesterday. Killed both 5 on 3s and the 4 on 3. Blocked shots, won the battles for the puck. Made good passes, setup the gaming goal by winning a battle in the corner. I could not ask for anything more.

I am sick of hearing all this s*** about not producing. Please learn hockey before making stupid comments like the one above.

Hockey is more then scoring points. Dats had a good series to, sure he did not score be he forced the ducks to watch him closely which made room for others to step up. Dats had enough scoring chances to make me happy, he is not able to put the puck in the net. That will come as long as he keeps playing like he is playing.

Sure, now say we'd have lost yesterday. Would point production have mattered then?

Some people just like to poke the bear.

[Wombat 26]

Man some of you so called "hockey" fans need to learn that point production does not equal a good player. Zetterberg played a GREAT GAME yesterday. Killed both 5 on 3s and the 4 on 3. Blocked shots, won the battles for the puck. Made good passes, setup the gaming goal by winning a battle in the corner. I could not ask for anything more.

I am sick of hearing all this s*** about not producing. Please learn hockey before making stupid comments like the one above.

Hockey is more then scoring points. Dats had a good series to, sure he did not score be he forced the ducks to watch him closely which made room for others to step up. Dats had enough scoring chances to make me happy, he is not able to put the puck in the net. That will come as long as he keeps playing like he is playing.

The issue is that each player gets their own expectations based on their history of play. We expect energy and defense out of Helm. We expect defense and faceoffs from Draper. We expect offense from Hudler. For guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg, they have the reputation for being both excellent defenders and potent offensive players. Their play and talent is higher, so the fan expectations are higher. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more regular offense from them. I don't think people are expecting a goal a game or anything... but chipping in a couple more goals/assists in these series beyond ENG.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

I think the reason that so many people dont give him as much love as he deserves this series is because he was quiet offensivly. He was pretty reliable in the defensive zone, but for the mst part that goes unnoticed by many because hes suppose to be such a scoring threat. Ill take zata getting a bunch of assists, a few empty netters, and awesome defensive play, over him scoring 10 goals no assists and playing a poor defensive game. I think its just hard for some people who take a look at a guy like Zetterberg and because he is an all around player, as soon as one aspect of his game goes down (goal scoring) regardless of his other aspects of the game increasing (assists and defense) its easy to only see the negative. To tell you the truth, with our depth scoring goals left and right, id be happy if Z played the same kind of series against Chicago. Scoring is coming all around, so Z can be sluggish there. If his defense falls off, i think there are less players on our team that can make up for his play there.

With that all said, would i like to see Hank step up and get some goals while the goalie is ACTUALLY still in net? Yeah that would be great. But not at the cost of him becoming defensivly unreliable.

Much love to Z for his play in the Ducks series, and much love to continue to come as we play the hawks and hopefully the finals.

Go Z, Go Wings.

[VM1138 1,921]

Zetterberg was huge for us, he had a few Conn Smythe plays. I don't know what happened to him, Hossa and Datsyuk scoring wise, but they had a great series. They were all over the ice making things happen. Just snakebitten. I have a feeling they will explode next series.

[stormboy 47]

yeah, as long as we're getting goals from the likes of hudler and helm, i'm alright with z being a dominant defensive forward. those PKs were amazing--series saving, one might argue.

look for all three of the big guns to light 'er up next series.

[Red4wings4life 0]

Sure, now say we'd have lost yesterday. Would point production have mattered then?

Some people just like to poke the bear.

If we would have lost yesterday, I would still say the samething because I am a true hockey fan, I understand the game of hockey, I played the game of Hockey. Points are not the most important factor when watching to see if a player is playing well.

Zetterberg blocked shots, won the little battles, created scoring chances. He had a great series.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

No Hank love, what about the Flip love???

He's been easy to bag but has been very, very good throughout the first two rounds. He was one of the most consistent players in the Anaheim series and stood up to their physical pressure extremely well. I thought his role on Samuelsson's goal has been greatly undervalued.

[norrisnick 1]

How in the world do some of you not realize that Z put up 3G 7A 10P +4 against the Ducks?

For a frame of refernce, that's 35G 82A 117P +47 over 82 games.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

How in the world do some of you not realize that Z put up 3G 7A 10P +4 against the Ducks?

For a frame of refernce, that's 35G 82A 117P +47 over 82 games.

I agree 100% with you, he was still very productive on offense, however, if im not mistaken i think 2 of those goals were on empty net shots. Not usually his style which throws off alot of fans watching. His assists were great though, cant take anything away from those and a +4 with his icetime and the fact that he iplays alot of minutes on the PK is impressive. His defensive play has really stood out though. I think i heard a stat that he has like 30 points in the last 2 playoff seasons which leads all other players including crosby? Still putting up some points, but hes a little under the radar with his offense compared to what many are used to, and like i said, alot of the times a defensive forward goes unnoticed. But without his defense and PKing the wings would be out of the playoffs right now for sure.

[titanium2 867]

He's averaged a little over 22 and half minutes so far in these playoffs. It's ridiculous. He's been a real workhorse.

[RedWings 79]

Actually, I found Zetterberg pretty lazy in the Columbus series. The fighting spirit was missing, he was just floating around, scoring but with no impact on the game.

He really stepped up in the Anaheim series. He could be our MVP against Chicago. I expect him coming very strong and focused now.

[blikst 1]

He was the only elite player to play elite. He doesnt get praise because we've come to expect it from Z. His penalty killing last night was something else though, holy mackeral!

Yeah I agree. If this would have happened like 2 years ago, this site would be full of Zetterberg love threads. He did what what most people at the mininum expected of him (some expect more).

[WingsCaptain 0]

Hank is the man.

Great shift and nice pass on the SWG.

His defense on those 5-on-3's in Game 7 was unbelievable.

14 points in 11 games. If I'm not mistaken he has atleast a point in every game so far except for one.

I have no complaints whatsoever about Z, and he just seems to be getting better.

Agreed. Take into consideration what Cleary said after the game:

"I said to Z on the bench, 'That's why you're the best, you know,' " Dan Cleary said. "I mean, what can you say? Conn Smythe winner, he's right there again this year. Those things, the two huge blocked shots on Getzlaf -- he's got a rocket and it was a huge kill. Pavel was great. We're very fortunate that our best offensive players are our best defensive players"

Blocking those shots from Getzlaf was crucial during that 5-on-3. Let's face it -- if the Ducks get a PP goal early, that's a lot of momentum. When they end up with nothing, it deflates them. You gotta know that the opposing team is going to do their best to shut down our top players/lines. That's when Detroit's depth comes into play. Columbus didn't have much luck shutting down our boys, but Anaheim was a tough opponent.

There's more to playoff performance than scoring. Winning the scrums, cycling down low, or just taking on the opposing team's best defensemen so others can score, is how playoffs are won.

~ Z

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Agreed. Take into consideration what Cleary said after the game:

Blocking those shots from Getzlaf was crucial during that 5-on-3. Let's face it -- if the Ducks get a PP goal early, that's a lot of momentum. When they end up with nothing, it deflates them. You gotta know that the opposing team is going to do their best to shut down our top players/lines. That's when Detroit's depth comes into play. Columbus didn't have much luck shutting down our boys, but Anaheim was a tough opponent.

There's more to playoff performance than scoring. Winning the scrums, cycling down low, or just taking on the opposing team's best defensemen so others can score, is how playoffs are won.

~ Z