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Nameless Zetterberg line rolls along
By George Malik
March 25, 2010, 8:23PM
As DetroitRedWings.com's Michelle Crechiolo notes, the Red Wings' as-yet-unnamed line of Valtteri Filppula, Henrik Zetterberrg, and Todd Bertuzzi have carried Detroit's offense with twenty points over the last three games, and at present, everything just seems to click...

March 25, DetroitRedWings.com: “(Bertuzzi) is great in front, it’s tough to move him,” Filppula said. “It gives more room outside too. So you always know you can just throw it in the front and Bert’s going to be there, so it’s a really huge thing for the line.”

What makes Babcock happy is the fact that the second forward line of Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Holmstrom didn’t have any points in Wednesday’s win; yet the team as a whole is still skated away with two points.

“That didn’t happen early,” Babcock said. “So you can spread it around a little bit more, and that makes you a better team.”

As the Detroit News's Chris McCosky notes, however, the line doesn't have a nickname, and it should:

March 25, Detroit News: A couple of readers have suggested nicknames for the Zetterberg-Filppula-Bertuzzi line. Thought I would share them with you.

Paul sent in "Z Pack" which I like, with the tag line, "They cure what ails you." Nice.
Scott offered up V2Z -- which works on a couple levels. Sound it out -- V-TOOZI. Work with it, work with it. It's not bad.
Keep 'em coming. Personally, I've got nothing. I tossed out the United Nations, but that's dumb and it's been used before. You know, though, once a nickname sticks, Babcock will change the line. It's inevitable.
Flash, dash, and crash? Slick meets Sasquatch? Toss some names out here, too...

I couldn't think of any worth posting but thinks this is fun..

providing the kings lose tonight (currently 3-2 buffalo in the third) it will remain this way until at least tommorows games. Now they just need to keep winning and climbing up.

Currently the wings have 58 points and the 3rd seed only has 62... if we can finish out January big this could be huge!

UPDATES

Detroit Red Wings
Updated Player                 Pos    Injury          Expected Return
12/21/09 Daniel Cleary     RW    Shoulder IR. Out until at least mid-January
11/25/09 Niklas Kronwall         D    Leg                IR. Out until at least late December
11/04/09 Valtteri Filppula C    Wrist          IR. Out until at least late December
12/15/09 Jonathan Ericsson D    Knee          Out indefinitely
12/03/09 Jason Williams         RW      Ankle          IR. Out until at least early January
12/18/09 Henrik Zetterberg LW      Shoulder        Out until at least early January
10/09/09 Johan Franzen         C    Knee          IR. Out until at least mid-February
10/02/09 Andreas Lilja         D    Concussion IR. Out indefinitely


From the top of the list to the bottom:

Latest News:
Daniel Cleary (shoulder) s looking forward to start skating again next week. Cleary separated his shoulder on December 9 when he was hit on a clean check by the Blues' Barret Jackman. Cleary said that he now off pain medication. "Once it gets to the point where it's only a little bit of pain, I'm going to try and skate and get through it," Cleary said. The Red Wings have been hit hard with injuries and Cleary is still likely two-three weeks away from returning to action.


Latest News:
Niklas Kronwall skated with Detroit on Wednesday for the first time since he sustained a sprained MCL in his left knee. Kronwall isn't expected to return to the Red Wings lineup until late December or early January. He has five goals and 13 points in 21 games this season.


Latest News:
Valtteri Filppula (broken wrist) took part in the Red Wings' practice drills on Wednesday. Filppula even attempted some wrist shots during practice. He has been sidelined since October 29th, but he could return to the Red Wings' lineup on December 26th.


Latest News:
Jonathan Ericsson's injured knee is still swollen. Ericsson suffered a deep bone bruise to his left knee on December 14th. He's already had his knee drained once since he sustained the injury, but it's swollen again. "My whole leg from my knee on down to my ankle is pretty swollen right now," Ericsson said. "Because of the swelling, I don't have a lot of motion right now. So you can only try to work to get the swelling down and go from there." Ericsson is expected to be sidelined for at least one more week. Stay tuned.


Latest News:
Jason Williams (broken leg) had his cast removed earlier this week. He will be fitted with a walking cast shortly - he's now on crutches - and will begin intense rehab after about a week of walking around. He hopes to begin light skating by the end of December and is still on target for a mid-January return.


Latest News:
Henrik Zetterberg will be out of the Detroit lineup for the next two weeks with a slight left shoulder separation. Zetterberg was injured on a clean hit by the Lightning's Mattias Ohlund during the first period on Thursday and did not return. The injury could keep him out longer, but figure on two weeks if you own him. The Red Wings play five times in the next 14 days so you may get a bit of a break in the schedule if you own him. Zetterberg is the leading point-getter for the Red Wings with 32 points in 34 games. Reserve him for now.


Latest News:
Johan Franzen was on the ice with the Red Wings on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his knee on October 8th. "I wasn't hoping for a good workout or anything like that," Franzen said. "Want to smell the ice and feel my stick and do all that." This is obviously a step in the right direction, but he's still not expected to return until February at the earliest.


Latest News:
Andreas Lilja (post-concussion syndrome) is still experiencing regular headaches. Lilja hasn't played since February due to post-concussion syndrome and there's still no timetable for his return. "I said to him today, "Lils, how are you doing,'" coach Mike Babcock said. "He said he's great, but he needs a week where he's totally symptom free." We'll keep you posted.

I got the feeling that he isn't hopeful for a lilja return... anyone else? rotoworld even stopped giving injury updates on him...
why not just cut him at this point?

Franzen:

Johan Franzen (knee) would like to start skating again by Christmas.
Franzen isn't expected to play until February after undergoing knee surgery on October 16th. "I wouldn't really call it skating, though," he said. "It'll be just slow strides. No turns. It's still sore, so I have to be careful." Franzen feels like he's ahead of schedule, but he won't know for sure until he undergoes more tests or X-Rays. We'll keep you posted.


Willams:

Jason Williams (leg) may be able to resume practices in three weeks.
He was fitted with a second cast on Monday and is making progress towards heeling from a broken right fibula he sustained on November 7th. "I can take a shower and not have to worry about putting a bag around it," Williams said. "My leg feels a lot better than it did. I go all of this week and all of next week in this cast and then get into a walking cast, and after that, start doing rehab and strengthening up the ankle and see how it feels." Keep him on your bench for the time being.
Source: Detroit Free Press


Flips:

Valtteri Filppula is scheduled to receive a shorter cast for his broken right wrist on Monday.
Filppula has been out of action since Oct. 29 with the injury, but is progressing towards his expected mid-December return. Stay tuned for updates.
Source: Detroit News