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HockeytownRules19

Smith in. Marchenko out for Game 3

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Its fairly simple. Smith's in for 2 reasons. Marchenko's not been great and has shown rookie playoff mistakes. Also Smith is probably the best skater, along with DD, that the wings have on the back end, and TBL are seriously quick as a roster.

This is a reason why Ericsson/Zidlcky on the 3rd line is scary, but at least they both know their role and Big Rig plays better on the left side. As for Smith, we all know the deal...he has the talent to be a comfortable top 4 d-man, and sometimes plays like it, but the earlier monkey tricycle for brains comment is sadly apt at times. Personally i like him with Kronner NK55 isn't actually as quick on his skates as he was and Ericsson just kills the offence at the moment. At least smith makes things happen, and Kronner is probably the only d-man at this moment with the smarts to both enhance that skillset and cover for him.

Either way, the most important thing is DD and KQ back together as they have become for the most part a steady eddie pair, with just enough skill not to completely handcuff the forwards.

As we know, this roster is seriously short of D-men, which is hardly surprising when one considers who has retired and who has left in recent seasons, and the striking out in FA. We all know that Kronner is basically a number 2 d-man having to play above himself, and then we have DD who is a top 4 guy with a little upside, and then the rest are 4-6 men who can be good on the second pair when on form and can be at press box level when not. The problem we have is that Marchenko, Oullette, Jensen and Sproul are not quite NHL regular ready and all have the upside of being 3-6 D-men at best. I still find it astounding that we've struck out so badly in FA, as surely any D-man out there worth their salt can see a potential career as 1-3 d-man for the next 5-7 years at a franchise that always looks after its players and is determined to ice a playoff team every year.

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I respect you sir and your opinions, but in my belief, there are a couple of things that stand out here. No one is saying that Smith is a top pairing D man. In fact, Kronner probably is a number 2 on a good D. But, Smith and Kronwall have played well together in the past, and right now this is all about putting the best possible D pairings together.

Thus, Q and DK have been our best pair all season, so in no way would you promote DK to play with Kronner at this stage. If you have a pair that plays well together, it'd be a good idea to keep them that way. That would give us 2 pairs that 'play well together', and then Zidlicky with Ericsson would give a solid 3rd pairing of 2 veterans, one defensively minded, and one offensively minded. I'd say that's a better balance. Will it happen? I doubt it.

And accountability - its the entire reason Smith was scratched for the last 3 games. Batting that puck on the bench was stupid, so Babs scratched him as a result. Now that he's kept his head down and worked hard in practice, he's back in. I guarantee he'll be fired up and ready to play.

Edit: I don't know why I'm arguing this. Smith isn't going to play with Kronwall, so what does it matter. He's going to get sheltered all night long, like he has all year. Read into that whatever you want.

Edited by kipwinger

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I sure hope that Babcock doesn't make roster decisions based on the notion that "crazier things have happened".

.

Sure, crazier things have happened. But so have MUCH, MUCH, MUCH smarter things too.

Yet he sure does seem to make decisions based off of that, ever since 2013 when Lidstrom retired. So your hope is unfortunately shattered. The list of random things Babcocks done in the last two years is endless. From starting an AHL roster in the playoffs, to putting Glendening on the first line with Pav. What's more is he's seemed to pull it off. Crazy decisions have the possibility of being smart decisions. They aren't mutually exclusive.

I don't like Smith's play. But like I've said, to put him on with Kronwall isnt blasphemous. Kronwall isn't a Lidstrom and the Red Wings don't have any legitimate defensemen that I'd want on my lineup. They're all average or below average.

Edited by kickazz

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