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revmo10

Zetterberg needs to step it up

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Hurt or not....Zetterberg needs to start working harder. A perfect example was last night when he had a partial breakaway and decided to stay to the outside. He really didn't drive the front of the net and give himself the best chance to score. This is a guy who has scored 40 goals and is pinned to be captain after Lidstrom. I'm very annoyed with his unwillingness to take it upon himself to get this team into the playoffs. Pav is doing it. Franzen is doing it. Homer is doing it. If Z doesn't start doing it....he won't get the chance to step up in the playoffs like he always does. I love Z but now is his time to get going. Didnt he just start making a ton of money this season? time to earn it.

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Guest Howard He Do It?!

White took away the middle of the ice. If Z cut to the middle, White would have meet him and taken away a potential shot.

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White took away the middle of the ice. If Z cut to the middle, White would have meet him and taken away a potential shot.

BS...Z had a step on him and could've used his body to protect the puck at least giving himself a better opportunity or drawing a penalty. Watch it again. Either way, Z took the less physical way out and didn't get as good of a chance as he could have.

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Z doesn't get to play with the best players like Datsyuk does...Homer is better than Cleary and Franzen is way better than Williams... Hank doesn't have a lot to work with... Hopefully, moving Flip there will help him out.

Remember when Z could create on his own? You're talking about him like he's a 2nd line caliber player...

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Remember when Z could create on his own? You're talking about him like he's a 2nd line caliber player...

no, its just that when you have Franzen or Datsyuk on your line, it's a little easier to create situations to score... it defiantly looks like something could be wrong health-wise, but it doesn't help when your the only player on your line who can consistently create scoring chances...Williams is always looking for a shot and Cleary is doing whatever it is Cleary does.

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Remember when Z could create on his own? You're talking about him like he's a 2nd line caliber player...

I do think that Z needs to not just work harder but just do whatever is required to be better, whether it's acknowledging that he's not moving as quickly as he's used to or just moving the puck a little quicker.

However the closest I remember Z 'creating on his own' was the Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Samuelsson line in '07 and that was a good one while it lasted. Sammy was Sammy, a 2nd/3rd line tweener and Holmstrom was I'd say a little better back then and I think that with his presence he definitely created more room for Z. Opponents see Cleary and Filppula and they don't give them as much respect because most of the time they don't have to. He's always had Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Franzen or in years past (Hull, Shanahan, Hossa, etc.).

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Z doesn't get to play with the best players like Datsyuk does...Homer is better than Cleary and Franzen is way better than Williams... Hank doesn't have a lot to work with... Hopefully, moving Flip there will help him out.

If you're making $6 mill then you should be the primary player of that line. Complementary top six players make $3-to low 5 mill.

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Z doesn't get to play with the best players like Datsyuk does...Homer is better than Cleary and Franzen is way better than Williams... Hank doesn't have a lot to work with... Hopefully, moving Flip there will help him out.

Oh please, now you're just making excuses. Z had a ton of opportunity playing w/ Dats and Homer this year. Hell he's played w/ everyone on this team, Bert, Dats, Homer, Clearly, Williams, Miller, need I go on???

Dats was w/ Bert for a ton of time, and they actually worked out pretty well together. But then when Bert gets paired w/ Z you guys say that Z is pulling the weight of an old man that can't produce anymore.

Then Z gets first line minutes for some games and what happens? Well Datsyuk is back as the #1 center as he should be.

Sorry, I love Z as much as the next guy but in comparison to his past performances or campaigns, he kinda sucks this year. Datsyuk has sucked at times, but not all season and he's actually picked it up when it means the most. Something Zetterberg is expected to do as well.

I have more of a problem w/ Z's season this year than that of Lidstrom's. Most of you should agree w/ that.

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'It's only cause he's injured.......no wait! It's only cause he has bad line mates......no wait! It's cause he isn't working hard enough!....no wait!...'

Some of those may be true......but how about maybe there is no real underlying reason? Maybe Hank is simply unable to produce like he was before. He had an amazing year in the 07-08, dropped off a bit the following season, and is gonna drop off even more this season. It happens......sometimes amazing players one year turn into not-so-amazing players the next. Look at Jonathan Cheechoo, the guy was a 50+ goal scorer at one point. This season? 5.

Now I'm not saying this is for sure the case with Hank, but the more I watch him this season, the more I realize its a distinct possibility.

Hopefully I'm wrong though and he'll press the "ON" button soon :).

Edited by ShanahanMan

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Does no one else remember how good he was earlier in the season, before getting injured?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKBhiAqkcgw

The one thing you could complain about back then was that he was shooting and shooting and shooting and very rarely scoring. So because of that people forget that he was playing great, maybe the best I've seen him since 07-08.

But after his injury he hasn't been quite the same. I very rarely want to use the "he's not 100%" excuse, but watching him play right now leads me to believe that it might be true.

He doesn't look like he's having fun out there. I think the people complaining about his lack of heart or whatever are dead wrong..

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Guest mindfly

This team is tired, it doesn't seem to me they want to make a run to the cup.

3 seasons over 100 games, I think they deserve to rest this off season.

Deserve... Deserve... I guess this is how it goes when the NHL is structured like this with the bulls*** salary cap and other screwed up rules, a team can't go to finals four years in a row(conference final first time i know), a team is dead tired that third time.. so that also prevents from having a "dynasty"..if chicago wins this year they will be f***ed and there will be a new champion next season... whey... nice sport eh.. not.. the little things that differs the "highend" team in the league from bottom feeders will be gone after a championship because they will get a salary raise so they get lost to FA etc... f***ed up system if you ask me

f*** YOU BETTMAN

Edited by mindfly

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Deserve... Deserve... I guess this is how it goes when the NHL is structured like this with the bulls*** salary cap and other screwed up rules, a team can't go to finals four years in a row(conference final first time i know), a team is dead tired that third time.. so that also prevents from having a "dynasty"..if chicago wins this year they will be f***ed and there will be a new champion next season... whey... nice sport eh.. not.. the little things that differs the "highend" team in the league from bottom feeders will be gone after a championship because they will get a salary raise so they get lost to FA etc... f***ed up system if you ask me

f*** YOU BETTMAN

Yet again, Bettman fails. Salary cap is killing the sport, I say for whoever that can't keep up with the $$$ and don't make enough money to sign players they should sell there team or move it.

A lot of teams don't even deserve to be in the NHL.

The league needs to get rid of the salary cap + Buttman + 6-8 teams for the love of god it's so boring. I also think if they do cut 6-8 teams they can reduce the season by 10 - 14 games.

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Guest mindfly

Emma probably cheated on him. With Nicklas Backstrom. She wanted to "upgrade."

I lol'd :D

Backstrom being 22 and Emma 31...not bad for backis ;)

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I do think that Z needs to not just work harder but just do whatever is required to be better, whether it's acknowledging that he's not moving as quickly as he's used to or just moving the puck a little quicker.

However the closest I remember Z 'creating on his own' was the Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Samuelsson line in '07 and that was a good one while it lasted. Sammy was Sammy, a 2nd/3rd line tweener and Holmstrom was I'd say a little better back then and I think that with his presence he definitely created more room for Z. Opponents see Cleary and Filppula and they don't give them as much respect because most of the time they don't have to. He's always had Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Franzen or in years past (Hull, Shanahan, Hossa, etc.).

To be honest I think it's all a matter of him going harder to the net and shooting more often. When Z's off his game his shot total always dips... when he scores in the 40 goal range his shot total is near the top of the league. I know it sounds almost too simple but in the end taking 6+ shots a game is going to get you goals.

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To be honest I think it's all a matter of him going harder to the net and shooting more often. When Z's off his game his shot total always dips... when he scores in the 40 goal range his shot total is near the top of the league. I know it sounds almost too simple but in the end taking 6+ shots a game is going to get you goals.

Right now, Zetterberg's shot total is good for 8th in the league. The bigger problem is that he hasn't been taking many quality shots for much of the season.

For whatever reason, Z doesn't have that explosiveness right now or the same tenacity on the puck. He was never the greatest skater, but he used to always outhustle everyone in the offensive zone--leading to sustained pressure. Now his chances seem to be more or less one-and-done.

On a side note, he wasn't at his best last regular season either. But we were winning games and nobody complained. It wasn't until the playoffs that he was a dominant force out there. Hopefully, he can turn it around here real quick. We're going to need Zetterberg in Conn Smythe form.

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Right now, Zetterberg's shot total is good for 8th in the league. The bigger problem is that he hasn't been taking many quality shots for much of the season.

For whatever reason, Z doesn't have that explosiveness right now or the same tenacity on the puck. He was never the greatest skater, but he used to always outhustle everyone in the offensive zone--leading to sustained pressure. Now his chances seem to be more or less one-and-done.

On a side note, he wasn't at his best last regular season either. But we were winning games and nobody complained. It wasn't until the playoffs that he was a dominant force out there. Hopefully, he can turn it around here real quick. We're going to need Zetterberg in Conn Smythe form.

Wow. To be honest, from watching the games it felt like he was passing instead of shooting on most occasions. I'm shocked he's 8th in shooting.

In that case your analysis is more accurate.

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Compared to recent years, I have noticed a distinct lack of cutting to the net with the puck for the whole team this year. Every time someone gets in, its ring around the outside, back of the net, scrum on the wall, and then out of the zone. You watch tonight. I have no idea what the deal is. But it isn't just Z out there.

Edited by grimace1970

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