Babcock ponders splitting up Zetterberg & Datsyuk

[Guest mindfly]

The Wings took a much-needed day off Sunday and will return to the practice ice Monday in preparation for Game 6 Tuesday.

Coach Mike Babcock wouldn't tip his hand on whether he will keep Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on the same line or split them up on the road, where the Penguins have the last change.Â

"I have no idea yet,'' Babcock said. "We're going to break down the tapes right now, and we'll go through all of that and we'll see. We'll just try to put ourselves in the best situation to get the kind of match-ups that are advantageous for us. The more depth you have, the better match-ups you get.

"If you play from behind, you never get what you want. If you play from ahead, you always get what you want.''

Datsyuk said he's feeling good the day after returning from a seven-game absence due to a foot injury.

"Feeling good and more confident,'' Datsyuk said. "And just try to come back into my shape, work out, and be ready for a very important game.''

What do you guys think about this issue?

[Rivalred 630]

What do you guys think about this issue?

You are the one who posted the information and did not post your opinion on the matter...

The question is what do you think of the scenario?

[Guest mindfly]

I think they should play together for sure, they just have that natural chemistry and pavel isn't 100% so him taking on the center position might be overkill imo.

[RWK23 0]

I love the Euro Twins together; however, I think splitting them up for Game 6 might be the smart play. Two Selke-caliber forwards on different lines gives the Wings more of an opportunity to shadow the Penguins' two high-scoring forwards in Malkin and Crosby.

Cleary - Zetterberg - Franzen

Filppula - Datsyuk - Hossa

Holmstrom - Helm - Hudler

Maltby - Draper - Samuelsson

That's what I'd run out there, I think.

[OsGOD 3]

stick them together when we are up 5-0 THEN break them up and go 10-0

however without last change we can really f*** with them by seperating

Edited June 7, 2009 by OsGOD

[dat's sick 1,002]

It's a tough decision. Having them on seperate lines would help in shutting down both Malkin and Crosby, but they're so good together and obviously want to play together so it's not easy to split them up.

Having them on the same line really forces the Pens to think defense, which I like. Keep them together I say.

[dawings1905 2]

I'd keep em together. Here is why.....The first line of Z and Dats was amazing, but the second line of Fil, Hoss, and Franzen is a load to handle as well. I don't even think about matchups defensively because too me the Pens should be the ones concerned about those two lines. Not us concerned about 2 players. It's time for the role reversal now that Pavs is back.

[Konnan511 1,736]

Stuff

Cleary - Zetterberg - Franzen

Filppula - Datsyuk - Hossa

line

line

That's what I'd run out there, I think.

Sorry, these lines won't happen, too much offense and defense on both lines, it will be deemed unfair by Campbell and force Illitch to immediately put two of those six players on waivers and then bought-out.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

it's not even an issue really. the top 6 consists of:

franzen - z - mule

flip - dats - hossa

whether those are the lines or not, they can be swapped at anytime to change matchups, etc.

maltby - draper - helm can shut down cindy quite well too. sammy played good defensive hockey last game too.

all that matters is that the wings play the same hockey they did in game 5.

[RWK23 0]

Sorry, these lines won't happen, too much offense and defense on both lines, it will be deemed unfair by Campbell and force Illitch to immediately put two of those six players on waivers and then bought-out.

Right. How short-sighted of me.

And you're in Sigma Chi at CMU? I'm in Sigma Tau Gamma, haha.

[FedorovMan91 1]

Isn't it better if we split up Z and D? Bylsma can choose his line matching so I think we have to limit the possibility our 4th line faces either Crosby or Malkin.

Thought?

[b.shanafan14 733]

I had absolutely no problem with the lines as is, but we'll probably want to put Datsyuk on Malkin, so he can own him some more. Long as Hossa starts playing in Game 6, they'll be fine.

[BowHuntingFool 0]

I'd keep em together. Here is why.....The first line of Z and Dats was amazing, but the second line of Fil, Hoss, and Franzen is a load to handle as well. I don't even think about matchups defensively because too me the Pens should be the ones concerned about those two lines. Not us concerned about 2 players. It's time for the role reversal now that Pavs is back.

After game 5 this is what I have been thinking. They way we were playing the Pens had no idea what to do defensively, they were dumbfounded. We should take it to them and make force them to play our game.

[Theophany 110]

Isn't it better if we split up Z and D? Bylsma can choose his line matching so I think we have to limit the possibility our 4th line faces either Crosby or Malkin.

Thought?

My thought is that we're not going to get ideal match-ups against Crosby and Malkin anyway. Bylsma is gonna play it so that Crosby and Malkin get matched up versus our 3rd and 4th lines.

Personally, I'd stick with the top two lines we had in game 5. They were excellent at both ends of the ice.

Hudler somewhere in the bottom two lines makes me kinda wary, but I think the rest of the guys will play with enough confidence to really shine in our defensive zone.

BTW, anyone else notice that Helm kinda disappeared when we were kicking the s*** out of the Pens yesterday? I mean, I noticed him there and playing as he always does, but he was a lot less noticeable because we weren't back on our heels.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

My thought is that we're not going to get ideal match-ups against Crosby and Malkin anyway. Bylsma is gonna play it so that Crosby and Malkin get matched up versus our 3rd and 4th lines.

Won't be able to do that very often. If he wants his guys to play, they're going to have to play against the top two lines, and that means someone draws Hank and maybe someone else draws Pavel, if that's Mike's decision.

[BuckeyeWingsfan80 209]

it's not even an issue really. the top 6 consists of:

franzen - z - mule

flip - dats - hossa

whether those are the lines or not, they can be swapped at anytime to change matchups, etc.

maltby - draper - helm can shut down cindy quite well too. sammy played good defensive hockey last game too.

all that matters is that the wings play the same hockey they did in game 5.

I know Franzenstein is a friggin stud, but he's going to play BOTH wings at the same time?

[FedorovMan91 1]

My thought is that we're not going to get ideal match-ups against Crosby and Malkin anyway. Bylsma is gonna play it so that Crosby and Malkin get matched up versus our 3rd and 4th lines.

Personally, I'd stick with the top two lines we had in game 5. They were excellent at both ends of the ice.

Hudler somewhere in the bottom two lines makes me kinda wary, but I think the rest of the guys will play with enough confidence to really shine in our defensive zone.

BTW, anyone else notice that Helm kinda disappeared when we were kicking the s*** out of the Pens yesterday? I mean, I noticed him there and playing as he always does, but he was a lot less noticeable because we weren't back on our heels.

I know our bottom lines will face Crosby and Malkin more than we did in game 5. I agree that Bylsma will try to shift Crosby and Malkin when Zetterberg and Datsyuk are not on the ice. But I think there is a plenty of chance that they will shift against our top lines. When the Wings face either Crosby or Malkin on different lines, we have to have one guy who can shut down those two players. If Zetterberg and Datsyuk go to the work to shut down one of Malkin and Crosby at the same time, I do not think our 2nd line can shut down another.

From my thought, I highly doubt Bylsma will shift Crosby when Zetterberg is on the ice because he saw the miserable play Crosby has made in this series against Zetterberg. I just want to try this for the first period. As much as Bylsma can choose the line matching, there will be little possibility that he will shift Crosby against Zetterberg

Datsyuk against Crosby

Zetterberg against Malkin

I like your idea but we know it is in Pittsburgh, not Detroit. Just my opinion.

[Gizmo 21]

"D" doesn't do much to win a hockey game without the "O"... I'd be tempted to let the Game 5 lines stand.

[LeftWinger 4,961]

keep them together. Flip, Hoss and Mule have great chemistry plus Franzen and Flip can handle Crosby or Malkin. Dats and Zetts can handle either as well. Don't change a thing....

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

i'd say keep them together!

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

it's not even an issue really. the top 6 consists of:

franzen - z - mule

flip - dats - hossa

whether those are the lines or not, they can be swapped at anytime to change matchups, etc.

maltby - draper - helm can shut down cindy quite well too. sammy played good defensive hockey last game too.

all that matters is that the wings play the same hockey they did in game 5.

Did you clone the Mule? If so that would be cool....

[titanium2 867]

I think it's a good idea to want Z, Pav, Fil and Helm down the middle with their defensive smarts. But that's only if Pav is up for it.

Mule-Z-Bear

Homer-Pav-Hoss

Huds-Fil-Sammy

Drapes-Helm-Malts

Actually, it might not be a bad idea to put Hossa on the third line like in Game 7 against Anaheim. That will really spread out the Pens defense.

Mule-Z-??

??-Pav-??

??-Fil-Hoss

Drapes-Helm-Malts

[Z and D for the C 712]

Same.

[Herr Hockey 0]

I say split them up, but actually have dats be on fils wing just like he was for Z. Fil being center and working with Hossa can't be even tweaked IMO. And as we saw last night, Dats playmaking ability isn't hindered by playing wing.

[Lidstrom for life 20]

I don't really know if this would be a decent idea or a terrible one but I say try and make 3 good lines so you don't need to worry about who is out there against Crosby. This way you would have scoring and defense on all four lines. It won't happen and Babcock is a genius so I will be happy with whatever he comes up with.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Cleary-Helm-Franzen

Hossa-Filpulla-Samuelson

Maltby-Draper-Hudler