Khan predicts what 'healthy' lineup will look like...coaches a

[uk_redwing 495]

Calm down a second and think. He was just pointing out that Miller has been added which pushes May down the depth chart even if Leino has plummeted below May.

So it had everything to do with your post.

I disagree. Im just talking about straight swapping Leino and May in the roster. Miller is still there doing his thing. Everybody dances around. Except FinnishWing.

And Im irritable today and felt like swearing at somebody.

[titanium2 867]

Seems like no matter how it shakes out that one of the bottom six lines will truly leave something to be desired imo.

[Guest mindfly]

Seems like no matter how it shakes out that one of the bottom six lines will truly leave something to be desired imo.

It's the third line who will be s***ty probably because Draper-Helm-Eaves is an awesome 4th line who can do their thing for 6-10mins per night.

[russianswede919293 95]

Abdelkader to Grand Rapids is all but a guarentee so I would stop including him in dream lines guys...

[dmg 0]

you guys are out of your mind, if lilja is healthy, the bottom pair should be lilja / lebda

fools

[Vladifan 680]

Leino is in but Miller is a scratch? What the puck?

^THIS^

[GoWings1905 2,694]

you guys are out of your mind, if lilja is healthy, the bottom pair should be lilja / lebda

fools

Lebda over Ericsson?

[dmg 0]

Lebda over Ericsson?

absolutely Lebda over Ericsson

Ericsson is not ready yet

[Jesusberg 1,256]

absolutely Lebda over Ericsson

Ericsson is not ready yet

Sure, but a lot of Ericsson's struggles have been BECAUSE he's played with Lebda. If he had a stable partner (Lilja) he'd be allowed to make some of the rookie mistakes he had, and he'd actually learn something. I also think that he played a lot better with big minutes last year. When he played on a pairing with Lidstrom he looked really good (yeah, Lidstrom can make anyone look good, I know). But having Lebda as a partner is ridiculous.

Why the hell would the team place Lebda (on his way out) over Ericsson (the future of the team)?

That's just insanity good sir.

[robb himself 143]

when everyone is healthy we should run these lines....

Zetterberg / Datsyuk / Holmstrom

Franzen / Filppula / Bertuzzi

Cleary / Miller / Williams

Helm / Draper / Eaves

Lidstrom / Rafalski

Stuart / Kronwall

Ericcsson / Lilja

Howard

Osgood

what do you guys think?

[Guest malelion55]

Where does your manlove to abdelkader come from, you know he's not a very good hockeyplayer, i think helm and eaves are better in their roles as fast skating checking players..

hahahaha.... i like this....LoL

[Casey 145]

Where does your manlove to abdelkader come from, you know he's not a very good hockeyplayer, i think helm and eaves are better in their roles as fast skating checking players..

hahahaha.... i like this....LoL

He actually plays hard, unlike the likes of Leino.

[Theophany 110]

Bert/Dats/Homer

Mule/Z/Cleary

Miller/Fil/Williams

Draper/Helm/Eaves

Leino

Maltby

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Stuart

Lilja/Ericsson

Meech

Howard

Osgood

End. These are the lines any sane person will come up with. Meech has been better than Lebda (cheaper, too), and Miller has really proved himself.

[gcom007 1,465]

Bert/Dats/Homer

Mule/Z/Cleary

Miller/Fil/Williams

Draper/Helm/Eaves

Leino

Maltby

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Stuart

Lilja/Ericsson

Meech

Howard

Osgood

End. These are the lines any sane person will come up with. Meech has been better than Lebda (cheaper, too), and Miller has really proved himself.

I'm not saying I disagree, but I think the checking line is likely to be a better line in every way than the 3rd scoring line...

Miller has been good all things considered, but he's inconsistent at best. Williams can be good but has also been very inconsistent throughout his career. Flip doesn't score goals and just isn't an offensive force. That line will just not be effective much at all. Just like at Flip/Miller/Bert, arguably a better line with Bert instead of Williams. Even the Flip lovers will tell you it sucks...

I think you either need to try and make a deal at the deadline for a moderately better play-maker in exchange for defensive depth or well, yeah, there's really not much of a better option with our current guys. So trade or weak-ass 3rd line...

[Guest Lidstromboli]

Miller has been good all things considered, but he's inconsistent at best.

huh?

do you mean inconsistent offensively? if so that's probably true, even though he's put up more points than most people expected

[Finnish Wing 110]

Bert/Dats/Homer

Mule/Z/Cleary

Miller/Fil/Williams

Draper/Helm/Eaves

Leino

Maltby

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Stuart

Lilja/Ericsson

Meech

Howard

Osgood

End. These are the lines any sane person will come up with. Meech has been better than Lebda (cheaper, too), and Miller has really proved himself.

I agree with these lines, although I'd like to see Kronwall and Rafalski switching places to get more balanced pairings.

[Theophany 110]

I'm not saying I disagree, but I think the checking line is likely to be a better line in every way than the 3rd scoring line...

Miller has been good all things considered, but he's inconsistent at best. Williams can be good but has also been very inconsistent throughout his career. Flip doesn't score goals and just isn't an offensive force. That line will just not be effective much at all. Just like at Flip/Miller/Bert, arguably a better line with Bert instead of Williams. Even the Flip lovers will tell you it sucks...

I think you either need to try and make a deal at the deadline for a moderately better play-maker in exchange for defensive depth or well, yeah, there's really not much of a better option with our current guys. So trade or weak-ass 3rd line...

Err, the fourth line isn't better than the third, in terms of scoring. The only argument I could see you logically making is that Eaves should be on that line and Miller should be on the fourth in his place.

Otherwise, if you're saying my fourth line is more offensively productive... Uh, dunno what to tell you except to watch more hockey and look at some stats from time to time.

I agree with these lines, although I'd like to see Kronwall and Rafalski switching places to get more balanced pairings.

More balanced pairings?

Lidstrom is the best on the team, Kronwall is second. Rafalski is probably third, and Stuart is fourth (only because Lebda/Meech/Ericsson are terrible on breakouts). I don't see how you can get much more balanced then by having a 1/3 and 2/4 pairing.

[Finnish Wing 110]

Err, the fourth line isn't better than the third, in terms of scoring. The only argument I could see you logically making is that Eaves should be on that line and Miller should be on the fourth in his place.

Otherwise, if you're saying my fourth line is more offensively productive... Uh, dunno what to tell you except to watch more hockey and look at some stats from time to time.

More balanced pairings?

Lidstrom is the best on the team, Kronwall is second. Rafalski is probably third, and Stuart is fourth (only because Lebda/Meech/Ericsson are terrible on breakouts). I don't see how you can get much more balanced then by having a 1/3 and 2/4 pairing.

Rafalski is the most offensive of those d-men (I'm not saying he's the best offensively, but you know what I mean) and Stuart is the most defensive. Lidstrom and Kronwall are both more balanced guys.

[55fan 5,133]

When Lilja comes back (that is so good to say!) I'd like to see him with Big Jon. Lills is a defensive player- most notably with his shot blocking- and Ericsson is a former forward. Paired with Lebda, Ericsson has looked lost and his rookie mistakes are more glaring.

Paired with a more stay-at-home type like Lilja, E has someone to cover for him as he is learning, and someone who is more responsible. Maybe this will free up E a bit and allow for his offensive side to show whilst learning to make better decisions and gaining experience.

At least that's what I hope.

[titanium2 867]

My questions about lines that seem to have no great answer.

Anybody in favor of Draper going back to center? From his point of view, is playing wing that much better for him this year? From the whole line's point of view, does it have to be Draper on that third wing or that line's productivity pretty much the Helm-Eaves pairing? I don't think it mattes who plays left wing on the Helm line as long as they can really skate and forecheck. However, I still don't think Draper should play center. For the most part, from what I've seen, he doesn't even play on the PK anymore unless he loses the faceoff.

Speaking of the Helm line, is it better to have the Helm line getting third line minutes or having it as an awesome fourth line with a third line above it that really leaves something to be desired? After what we've seen that line do this year, it's probably a good idea for it to stay as the third line. How could we possibly watch any other line play those minutes? It will look crappy; especially in the playoffs should they make it.

Many seem to like the idea of a Bert-Fil-Mule line and it does sound intriguing. My small concern with that idea is that it has no true net front presence as in a player that doesn't need to have the puck a lot and can simply play its role, get the puck back, give it to one of the playmakers and get out of the way. For example, how is it that the Euro Twins have started to play decently well as of late? It's because Cleary knows what he has to do on that line and he does it well. Don't get me wrong, Bertuzzi and Franzen can be serviceable in front of the net in a power play situation but it seems like in 5 on 5 situations they prefer to play around the slot and draw attention as a shooting threat. Bertuzzi and Franzen on the same line could turn out to be an unproductive internal struggle to be the shooter: "No, you get in front of the net, I want to shoot" "No, you do it, I did it the last four times." Guys like Holmstrom and Cleary don't mind playing a role that will allow Datsyuk and Zetterberg and whoever else to work the cycle more effectively. The question is that with everything considered, how do you place Holmstrom and Cleary within the top six on separate lines? In one situation, you can't have the Euro Twins together. In another situation, you have a rather undesirable scenario of Filppula as the third line center that forces the Helm line to play less minutes as a whole. In the end though, a Bert-Fil-Mule line is definitely worth the experimentation but I can definitely see some significant potential pitfalls.

These last few games the Euro Twings have started to show some flashes of what they used to be. I think many want them together on the power play and we can pretty much agree on that. 5 on 5 situations is where we start to disagree a little more as many think their effectiveness dwindles significantly and that them together on the same line is a waste when they can both dominate the puck on separate lines and provide good defense as well. At the same time, we all know about Babs' tendency to have the same line combinations play together in all situations. He does this supposedly to maintain familiarity and chemistry. And so the question lingers, together or apart? I personally want the Euro Twins to be the Euro Twins again no matter what.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Bertuzzi-Filppula-Franzen

Cleary-Helm-Eaves

Draper-Abdelkader-Williams

[gcom007 1,465]

Err, the fourth line isn't better than the third, in terms of scoring. The only argument I could see you logically making is that Eaves should be on that line and Miller should be on the fourth in his place.

Otherwise, if you're saying my fourth line is more offensively productive... Uh, dunno what to tell you except to watch more hockey and look at some stats from time to time.

More balanced pairings?

Lidstrom is the best on the team, Kronwall is second. Rafalski is probably third, and Stuart is fourth (only because Lebda/Meech/Ericsson are terrible on breakouts). I don't see how you can get much more balanced then by having a 1/3 and 2/4 pairing.

I don't think you can break up the Helm, Draper, Eaves line. They work great together. They might not have quite the scoring potential as the 3rd in some ways, but I don't think we've seen the best from Eaves yet let alone Helm. I think that line will continue to improve offensively. But more so, that line is an incredibly effective line when it's on the ice at both ends. They may not have quite the skill to bury the puck too often, but they'll wear defensemen into the ground too with their work ethic. No line works harder out there.

I'll believe it when I see it on that 3rd line. Williams has never been a consistent guy and he's never produced in the playoffs. Miller is the type that has impressed many including myself under the circumstances, but he hasn't been an offensive force by any means and I can't help but think that his contributions will dwindle as the season progresses and his role is minimized. And Flip is not a goal scorer by any means and only an average playmaker. His defensive strength will ensure that the line's not much of a liability in our end, but I just don't see this line being very effective as a scoring line. I'd like to see a guy with more pure offensive skills on that line, even at the expense of defense.

It'll be real interesting to watch this team the next week or so as we get guys back. I think we've got a lot of good guys, but I just am not sold on the balance of roles and the chemistry.

[Theophany 110]

I'll believe it when I see it on that 3rd line. Williams has never been a consistent guy and he's never produced in the playoffs. Miller is the type that has impressed many including myself under the circumstances, but he hasn't been an offensive force by any means and I can't help but think that his contributions will dwindle as the season progresses and his role is minimized. And Flip is not a goal scorer by any means and only an average playmaker. His defensive strength will ensure that the line's not much of a liability in our end, but I just don't see this line being very effective as a scoring line. I'd like to see a guy with more pure offensive skills on that line, even at the expense of defense.

It'll be real interesting to watch this team the next week or so as we get guys back. I think we've got a lot of good guys, but I just am not sold on the balance of roles and the chemistry.

I think you saw it tonight. They were great all night long.

[titanium2 867]

I think you saw it tonight. They were great all night long.

We all knew how good they could be for one game. It's a matter of can they do it consistently.

[gcom007 1,465]

We all knew how good they could be for one game. It's a matter of can they do it consistently.

Serious or not, you're pretty much right. We've only had two lines this season that have really clicked for any significant period of time, those being Draper/Helm/Eaves and Bert/Datsyuk/Holmstrom.

I'm not taking anything away from what they did tonight, but I still stand by what I said originally. I know LGW's can go from having the Wings winning the Stanley Cup to needing to rebuild from the ground up day to day, so I'm just saying, let's just wait and see...

[titanium2 867]

Serious or not, you're pretty much right. We've only had two lines this season that have really clicked for any significant period of time, those being Draper/Helm/Eaves and Bert/Datsyuk/Holmstrom.

I'm not taking anything away from what they did tonight, but I still stand by what I said originally. I know LGW's can go from having the Wings winning the Stanley Cup to needing to rebuild from the ground up day to day, so I'm just saying, let's just wait and see...

Well, when it comes to Williams, I just feel like we've seen this guy before every once in a while only to see him float around and not go to the net enough for a significant period of games.

When it comes to Filppula, I really don't consider myself a huge fan. I just expect different things from him than you do and that's fine. I'm okay with the fact that you and I will never ever see eye to eye on his production.