Nevermind

There's a difference between matching up against a player and saying who's better.

Sure, Crosby's the most talented offensive hockey player in the world and would certainly score much more than Zetterberg over a full season no matter what teams both of them are on.   But, that doesn't mean Z can't shut him down in a direct head-to-head match-up.  

So yeah, I'd still take Z over Crosby if they were matched against each other in a playoff series.  Unless he really has some nagging injury or something, I think Zetterberg can still be almost as effective as he already has been in the playoffs the last four, five years.

I might be being too much of a homer, but I can still honestly say Hank's a much, much better defensive forward than Crosby.  Everything I just said goes for Datsyuk as well.

So will Bettman declare that tomorrow night is the true official start of the NHL regular season?

But I try my best not to watch Ericsson...

I'd try this...

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen

Basically switch Fil and Cleary.  It's always seemed like Cleary plays better with Z than Pavel.  The two were dominant along with Mule in the '09 playoffs.  And Filppula should give Pavel a guy with speed who can handle the puck too.

Kindl has played much better than Ericsson.  I've been pleasantly surprised so far by his outlet passes and pinching decisions.  Oh well...I suppose it's too embarrassing to sit a $3M+ defenseman.  

Looking forward to see what Commodore can do though.

You already declared that the Wings will not win the Cup this season. Why are you still here if you've already given up?

You act like everyone here is severely overreacting and wants to tear this team apart.  While a select few might make hasty and irrational comments to that effect, most of us don't.  

The team hasn't played well lately.  End of story.  As fans, can we not criticize that?

If we have doubts that our team might not be good enough to win the Cup--are we no longer fans?  If anything it's because we care and are able to see the flaws in our favorite team.

A slight overreaction on the pessimistic side is still much better than this cockeyed, self-righteous optimism of yours.

The idea of replacing Cleary with Hudler sounds interesting...either that or give Brunnstrom a shot at some playtime with Dats and Z.  Really shake things up to get that line going. In no way, shape, or form do you split a line that's playing as good as Mule, Tuzzi and Flip.

But the line's Mule, Huds and Flip.

I know it's surprising, but Hudler's doing a good job on that line.

He takes all day to wind up though.  And his shot never seems to be all that hard or accurate in real-game situations.

The penalty killing in this league is too good for that.

I've never been keen on Hudler playing the point on a powerplay.

I'd put Ericsson back there.  He's got a bigger shot than Hudler and they paid him a boat load of money.  Let's see how he looks on the point.

I would go back to Kindl.  Even though it wasn't working well with him on it the first two games (yes, I know he coughed the puck up for that one breakaway), I still think he has some good potential to be a solid powerplay quarterback.

On a side note, anyone else really liking Kindl's overall game this year?  Definitely some huge steps from last year.  He looks really confident out there, making good passes and not shying away physically.

I just think Hudler's numbers would be similar if he had similar ice time and line-mates.  Hudler is a gifted hockey player.

Franzen's playoff numbers before last season:

07-08:  13 goals and 5 assists for 18 points in 16 games played.  Plus 13.

08-09:  12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in 23 games played.  Plus 8.

09-10:  6 goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 12 games played.  Plus 8.

Now please tell me again that Hudler could put up these numbers or better in the playoffs.

There was a camera shot late in the game of Ericsson skating backwards basically one on one and breaking up the rush.  The camera angle was from behind the end glass and showed really well his positioning and crossover skating skills.  I have some high school hockey players that would benefit from seeing this video.

Sorry, I can't help you with the video.

But are you sure you want a video of Ericsson?  I think your players would benefit more from watching 5 seconds of Lidstrom than 100 hours of Ericsson.

More like 'Common sense move'.

Hudler with all 17!  

esteef

Don't be ridiculous.

You know Ericsson will have at least 3 or 4.

Ericsson is a clown. Can't shoot, can't pass, can't use his size, can't defend....

At least he has a good agent.

I'd be shocked if he doesn't make the team.


By the way, anybody else think he looks eerily similar to Getzlaf?

Brunnstrom isn't bald.