No Samuelsson at Wings' morning skate

[Opie 308]

Draper helm Cleary sounds badass to me, that line will forecheck the s*** out of the Pit D.

That line can score 0 goals and they will all deserve assists on the goals the Wings score in the 3rd period.

This line is not being put together for offense, trust me. This should be known as Depth Checker. As they will test the depth of you D corps!

And those of you that want Leino with Drapes, why? To mess up the chemistry that 4th line has going? Especially when you can have a shut down 3rd line like what the Wings are throwing out there.

As it is lines 1-3 can defend Crosby and Malkin, the only potential problem is line 4 and that is why Maltby is there.

Babs is lining up his Team D for not having the last change.

Plus he will mix up the lines during the game, I would love to see a Helm Hossa Mule line out there too, with Flip Z Holmer!

[Nev 1,085]

Edit: For anyone paying attention to defensive play this season, I do believe Draper had the team low for +/-.

To be fair to Drapes, he got in a -12 hole by December but was pretty much even the rest of the way. Which considering our 4th line of him, Maltby & Kopecky had zero offensive output is pretty impressive.

Sammy may be infuriatingly inconsistent, but he is also clutch, and will be missed for that reason.

[Chris L 0]

My guess is that the Pens will use Crosby against our second line of Filp, Homer and Hossa. The 4th would be ideal for them, but they won't be out there enough to be effective.

Were I coaching the Pens, I'd do this. Homer is slow and just not his usual strong self this year. I don't know if its age or his injury that's lingering but he doesn't have the same step that he used to. Crosby would skate rings around him. Plus Crosby ought to know Hossa's playing style very well and should match up against him well.

Also, I'd put Malkin on assignment against Z, he's bigger than Z and, probably, can keep up with Z skating too. However, Malkin isn't very defensive minded so I dunno how that would balance out. We know Z would make Malkin's life hell when he's down low by Ozzie, but really, what can the Pens do? If they work to get Malkin and Crosby away from Z and or Franzen, who's going to cover Z and Franzen? Certainly they can't depend on Hal Gill and Orpik to handle them both, no way.

Everybody's making a lot of talk about how Crosby will get a breather from Z, but by keeping Crosby (and/or Malkin) away from Z's line opens our first line to play against a 3rd or 4th line? That's not good for the Pens, especially if Fluery is having issues.

[Jake Ryan 1]

Has anyone noticed how freaking good this team is!!! We've got a 5th line that could play on any other team!

Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen

Hossa - Datsyuk - Filppula

Hudler - Helm - Abdelkader

Leino - Draper - Samuelsson

Maltby - Kopecky - Holmstrom

Damn. Just Damn. How Holland managed to get this cast of forwards together is just plain wizardry.

[40#1Fan 0]

Red Wings' Mikael Samuelsson game-time decision; Pavel Datsyuk possible for Game 4by Ansar Khan

Tuesday June 02, 2009, 11:56 AM

PITTSBURGH -- Update from Tuesday's morning skate:

Mikael Samuelsson did not practice. Kris Draper took Samuelsson's spot on the line with Darren Helm and Dan Cleary. Coach Mike Babcock said Samuelsson's status will be determined at game time. If he can't play, Draper will replace him. Otherwise, Draper is out.

Pavel Datsyuk didn't practice with the team but skated briefly on his own afterward. He didn't seem to be moving well, but Babcock said Datsyuk actually made significant progress overnight and might be ready to play in Game 4.

Here's the lines they skated with:

Franzen-Zetterberg-Hudler

Holmstrom-Filppula-Hossa

Draper-Helm-Cleary

Leino-Abdelkader-Maltby

McCarty-Downey (scratches)

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Lebda

Chelios-Meech-Kindl (scratches)

Osgood

Conklin

Howard

[40#1Fan 0]

Update on Wings' injuries

Coach Mike Babcock just said that that it looks like Pavel Datsyuk won't play tonight but that he had a big improvement which could help him in a return for Thursday's Game 4.

Kris Draper might play tonight, according to Babcock, but only if Mikael Samuelsson doesn't play. Draper skated this morning and Samuelsson did not because of an undisclosed injury. If Samuelsson plays, Draper will sit. That means that the fourth line of Abdelkader, Maltby and Leino is together again tonight.

[zata20 4]

EJ Hradek confirmed on NHL Live that Sammy is sick. I think possibly the flu since Osgood had it for a couple games against chicago.

[StevieBoy 2]

I also just heard on XM that Datsuk was "skating hard" at practice today and that Babcock thinks there is a reasonable chance of him playing for game 4.

[HockeytownRN 0]

I hate to be a buzz kill, but I'm very much OK with Sammy being out (although I do hope he's not injured). IMO Sammy is a liability most of the time he's on the ice. He gives the puck away too often. Yes, he does get some clutch goals, I'll give him that. But, he's fed pretty passes most of the time. He usually doesn't return that favor--even with open team mates. I don't like him on the pp but I understand why Babweenie puts him out there.

I'm not usually a player "basher" but I feel that Drapes back in and Sammy out is a good thing. Drapes brings speed and face off wins on the penalty kill. We are in need of both. I think that Leino, Helm and Abs have been very strong on the ice. Actually, I think they are messing with the Pens just enough that the defense isn't sure who to concentrate on. That's why they are scoring. They are putting added pressure on the Pens defense and I LOVE it!

I totally agree about Sammy. I do NOT understand why Babs puts him on the point on the PP though. WHY??? I'm not bashing Samuelsson, but his giveaways drive me crazy and I find myself cheering when he actually keeps the puck in on the PP lately. I'd rather see Drapes in for the faceoffs since the Pens seem to be winning half lately. I hope Abs stays in, he's on a roll!

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

EJ Hradek confirmed on NHL Live that Sammy is sick. I think possibly the flu since Osgood had it for a couple games against chicago.

lol hes not sick. he got rocked at the end of game 2 and never returned.