New lines going into Friday (not speculation)

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

I predicted that in a shortened season Babcock and any other coach wouldn't wait long to mix and match lines. There's simply no time to give players more time to gel together.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg were doing nothing together, so it was time to split them up.

[Pskov Wings Fan 71]

At least our first pairing isn't Suter-Spurgeon

Don't be so hard on Spurgeon. I like him better than Suter so far.

[matt198913 932]

Yeah, I was scratching my head at that too, but then I saw that Khan covered that. Cleary was already working on the PK, so Tootoo subbed in. Not expected to be on the PP.

He could be next man in though. I like Tootooo

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Good to hear they are trying Eaves on the third line instead of Miller. Miller adds very little in my opinion. I would really like to see Tootoo/Helm/Eaves though.

[evilzyme 769]

They aren't going to split Zetter and Brunner, they specifically made Zetty go over there to make chemistry with the man. They frickin live together ffs, they aren't going to get changed. It's one of the few duo's that actually have chemistry within this team, in a shortened season where chemistry is going to be hard to build. Eventually people will mesh together, but you don't eliminate the only actual chemistry you have to go try and "build some different" chemistry. If we had more people working together, we could afford to try Brunner and Zett seperate, but right now, hell no. Pavel and Filp will be great together, and Bert will be there to help both of them out. Bert and Pasha can create the space, filp can use it. He can find the open areas and exploit them, he's damn good at doing so, he just needs someone that can carry the puck for extended amounts of time. Mule better get motivated here soon, he's playing in the one spot that gets him the goals he always gets. Dirty ones. Franzen is, and never will be our sniper. He wasn't brought into Detroit to be a sniper, he came in here to be a power forward. I don't know how many damn times I have to keep bringing this up, we NEVER expected Franzen to be some sniping sure shot. His role changed, and now he thinks he doesn't need to use his body and just rely on his shot. Well mule, that'd be cool and all, if you actually had a shot to rely on. The dude needs someone down his ass to motivate him, he's just one of those personalities.

[esteef 2,679]

^ Yet last game Dats and Brunner were on the same line for a spell so....Point is, if Dats can help create more opportunities for Brunner to score then Z Babs will switch them, as he already has. I'm fine with him being with either though.

esteef

edit: than, then

Edited January 24, 2013 by esteef

[shoobiedoobin 138]

I dunno about this. I will hardly ever question our coach but our top 6 didn't look bad. We weren't scoring but we weren't having trouble hitting a ton of posts and moving the puck. It really felt like a situation where we just need an extra few games before the chemistry settled in. Especially with Hank, Pav and Brunner. They showed so much potential and now, sorry to say, I don't like how these lines look. I always like how Pav and Flip play together. But Bert as much as I like the guy is slow and can kill entire shifts with his choices with the puck in the offensive zone. Brunner and Z obviously work well together, they showed it overseas and in the first few games. But Mule? s*** c'mon we can shift the lines all we want, it won't make him work any harder. Some people are born lazy and don't have what it takes to change. He's going to be an anchor, not for the same reasons as Bert but the end result might well be the same. Like I've said before I will hardly ever call for a player to straight up get off the team but Mule is 4 mil, and a top 6 spot, that we could be giving to someone willing to skate their ass off. He's an anchor that's holding down whatever line he's on. And have fun passing to him when he won't skate to get open. This can and will kill us if we let it.

I seriously hope I'm wrong and somehow chemistry develops but I'm just not a fan of how frequently Babcock mixes his lines up. I think even if a few lines have the chance to work we may never know.

Edited January 24, 2013 by shoobiedoobin

[evilzyme 769]

^ Yet last game Dats and Brunner were on the same line for a spell so....Point is, if Dats can help create more opportunities for Brunner to score than Z Babs will switch them, as he already has. I'm fine with him being with either though.

esteef

when was this? I saw brun with zett the whole time with pasha rolling on the 2nd with filp? never actually saw brunner start a line with pasha out there. i'll go check game center and see if i can spot it throughout the 3rd

I seriously hope I'm wrong and somehow chemistry develops but I'm just not a fan of how frequently Babcock mixes his lines up. I think even if a few lines have the chance to work we may never know.

That was the beauty of Scotty Bowman.

[esteef 2,679]

when was this? I saw brun with zett the whole time with pasha rolling on the 2nd with filp? never actually saw brunner start a line with pasha out there. i'll go check game center and see if i can spot it throughout the 3rd

Dats fed Brunner for the only goal at the end. It may have been just for the scramble at the end but boy they had some good passing and board work together. Either Dats or Z is fine with me though. Not a big deal.

esteef

[evilzyme 769]

Dats fed Brunner for the only goal at the end. It may have been just for the scramble at the end but boy they had some good passing and board work together. Either Dats or Z is fine with me though. Not a big deal.

esteef

He fed him, but Zetty fed Pasha which means the whole original first line out there. They haven't straight up split Zett and Brunner together, which was my point. Now stop being so technical!

[CrimsonFlame 424]

Wings always seem to preform better when D and Z are split up so I'm all for this.

[McAwesome 754]

I like the look of the top 6, and I agree with those that are saying switch Miller and Eaves, back before the concussion Eaves had some pretty good chemistry with Helm, both at even strength and on the PK, same with Miller and Abdelkader.

He fed him, but Zetty fed Pasha which means the whole original first line out there. They haven't straight up split Zett and Brunner together, which was my point. Now stop being so technical!

Not to mention it was an empty net situation, the only defenseman on the ice was Kronwall with 4 forwards, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Brunner, and I believe Franzen.

[shoobiedoobin 138]

That was the beauty of Scotty Bowman.

I know man but this isn't Scotty's team. And Scotty had a different way of doing it from Babs (such as letting chemistry develop if it was there) but let's say he didn't for the sake of argument. I don't think this specific team works well when being split up every two games. The old teams could and I think we partly got by because of how stacked we were. But we're not anymore and I don't think our guys are developing any quaker instant chemistry while being juggled constantly. I just don't think this team we have now responds well to it. Some teams do, some don't. I don't think Scotty would make it work with them either. I'm not opposed to juggling, I just think we need to be a little more patient if the potential is showing itself.

I really do truthfully think that if we just got rid of Mule, and had Bert play permanently in the bottom 6, and had a couple fast hard working bodies with adequate skill in the top 6, suddenly our need to line flip all the time wouldn't be there. There's a deeper problem than just chemistry.

Edited January 24, 2013 by shoobiedoobin

[esteef 2,679]

He fed him, but Zetty fed Pasha which means the whole original first line out there. They haven't straight up split Zett and Brunner together, which was my point. Now stop being so technical!

Dammit! I was drinking and my eyes were blurry!

esteef

[T.Low 1,011]

I dunno about this. I will hardly ever question our coach but our top 6 didn't look bad. We weren't scoring but we weren't having trouble hitting a ton of posts and moving the puck. It really felt like a situation where we just need an extra few games before the chemistry settled in. Especially with Hank, Pav and Brunner. They showed so much potential and now, sorry to say, I don't like how these lines look. I always like how Pav and Flip play together. But Bert as much as I like the guy is slow and can kill entire shifts with his choices with the puck in the offensive zone. Brunner and Z obviously work well together, they showed it overseas and in the first few games. But Mule? s*** c'mon we can shift the lines all we want, it won't make him work any harder. Some people are born lazy and don't have what it takes to change. He's going to be an anchor, not for the same reasons as Bert but the end result might well be the same. Like I've said before I will hardly ever call for a player to straight up get off the team but Mule is 4 mil, and a top 6 spot, that we could be giving to someone willing to skate their ass off. He's an anchor that's holding down whatever line he's on. And have fun passing to him when he won't skate to get open. This can and will kill us if we let it.

I seriously hope I'm wrong and somehow chemistry develops but I'm just not a fan of how frequently Babcock mixes his lines up. I think even if a few lines have the chance to work we may never know.

I disagree about Bertuzzi. He's certainly not known for having wheels, but he has great positional instincts, great vision, and awesome hands, all equating to him being a great play maker. Yeah, I wish he were faster, but he is still usually right where you'd want him to be.

[shoobiedoobin 138]

He has all those things but I just can't stand when he makes a drop pass to no one, or forces a pass and we lose possession without anything good happening. Bertuzzi minus the wheels to get open is just killer. It will depend on the opponent.

[brett 1,029]

i like it just eaves and miller need to be switched

the tootoo abs miller line was intense

[brett 1,029]

has smith and lashoff ever played together on the griffins?

they might do good together. better than Q and smith

[Euro_Twins 4,475]

has smith and lashoff ever played together on the griffins?

they might do good together. better than Q and smith

Smith and I would play better together than Quincey and Smith, and I would be drunk...

[Motown4013 350]

This wont last long. Eaves is glass.

Man crush alert, Man crush alert!

[eb9 1]

Leaving Brunner and Z together makes sense given their experience together playing in Zug before the season. I actually don't know why they aren't putting franz-dats-bert and fil-z-brun. Last year those were the lines, but samuelson played in brun's spot. I guess there will be changes galore until we get a winning streak though.

As a side note (that doesn't matter at all), on NHL 13 they have Brunner as 60 overall. His play so far very much begs to differ.

[lacrossekid2 5]

Leaving Brunner and Z together makes sense given their experience together playing in Zug before the season. I actually don't know why they aren't putting franz-dats-bert and fil-z-brun. Last year those were the lines, but samuelson played in brun's spot. I guess there will be changes galore until we get a winning streak though.

As a side note (that doesn't matter at all), on NHL 13 they have Brunner as 60 overall. His play so far very much begs to differ.

Lol on NCAA Football 13 I don't even think Johnny Manziel was on the game

[wings_fanatic 677]

Leaving Brunner and Z together makes sense given their experience together playing in Zug before the season. I actually don't know why they aren't putting franz-dats-bert and fil-z-brun. Last year those were the lines, but samuelson played in brun's spot. I guess there will be changes galore until we get a winning streak though.

As a side note (that doesn't matter at all), on NHL 13 they have Brunner as 60 overall. His play so far very much begs to differ.

No... Franzen is always useless playing on Pavs line... all he does is slow Pavs down. For now I would like to see what Fil can do on a line with Pavs and Bert. It is no secret that Fil is still feeling the effects of his injury so I think skating on a line with Pavs will help him out a lot and having a body like Bert out there will create space. If these new lines don't work, then I would like to see:

Bert- Datsyuk- Brunner (I think this would be a really good line. For everyone against splitting up Hank and Brunner... get over it. I don't think Brunner will complain too much because he has been getting used to Datsyuk's plays just fine and Pavel is a much better set up guy than Hank. Bert would create more space... I think this could turn out to be a great line.)

Fil- Hank- Franzen (Fil and Hank had great chemistry last year and Franzen typically plays decent on a line with Hank... could be a great 2nd line)

Cleary- Helm- Sammy (Solid third line that is responsible on both ends of the ice)

Toottoo- Abs- Miller/ Eaves

I think eventually Babs will go to using these lines because i think they have the best spread.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Not a big fan of Bertuzzi back in the top-six, but not many other options and it's time to try something different anyways after the first three games. Datsyuk and Zetterberg needed to get split up because they weren't producing much and it now spreads out the talent more effectively. Filppula had garbage help with Franzen and Sammy, but I'm not sure he can carry his own line at center and maybe he'll shoot the puck again at wing with Datsyuk. Z and Brunner better continue their chemistry because they are playing down a linemate.

I would also rather see Eaves with Helm and Miller with Abdelkader. Hopefully Helm can spark the entire team tomorrow.

Edited January 25, 2013 by GoWings1905

[Guest Crymson]

Good to hear they are trying Eaves on the third line instead of Miller. Miller adds very little in my opinion. I would really like to see Tootoo/Helm/Eaves though.

Miller scored more goals than any of the team's other grinders last season. 14 goals is not in the least shabby for a player who makes close to league minimum and who can also play effectively on the PK.