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Abel to Yzerman

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Desperation or Common Sense?

by IwoCPO on 12/05/06 at 05:29 AM ET
Comments (6)

Helene St. James mentioned in her Wing blog yesterday that Pavel Datsyuk has been practicing on a line with Hank Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson.  Many of you read that and said something to the effect of, “Golly, it’s about darn time.”

A smaller number may have raised an eyebrow and thought, “uh oh.  That’s desperation right there, brother.”

I’m somewhere in the middle.

There can be no doubt Datsyuk and Zetterberg have flourished together in the past.  I sense they will again, and that’s not exactly a stretch.  But the reason they haven’t been given that opportunity so far this season is because they are each so vital to other lines, and other players’ successes. 

Closer to the truth:  this may be Babcock’s admission that this team is what you see, limited offensively to the extent that he’s placed his two best forwards on one line in hopes they can generate a consistent two goals/game.  He can likely expect two other bonuses from a surprise Cleary, Draper, Lidstrom or Schneider and hope his defensive scheme is enough to keep the opposition to three goals.

I’ve said it before.  3 is the magic number where the Wings are concerned.  Of the Wings’ 11 losses (regulation and OT), 10 have come after allowing 3 or more goals.  The Wings are averaging 2.60/game.

Babcock’s move, to me, is a clear attempt to move that average up over three, while hoping the power play continues to grudgingly improve. 

We, ok...I, have been tossing our boy Pavel under the buss the last few weeks. I make no excuses for it.  He’s played well below what he’s capable of.  But...but, while his goals are obviously down, his assists are where we’d expect.  His 12 are second to Lidstrom’s 15.  Zetterberg, on the other hand, has notched only 6. 

Oh, and it would appear the Wings have begun to bristle at the constant references to a team-wide slump.

Helene St. James/Detroit Free Press

“You can count on one hand how many 2-on-1s we’ve had this year,” Robert Lang said Monday. “For the skill and the speed we have, we should have 2-on-1s, 3-on-1s every game. But we play sort of a safe style. I mean, with five guys back, we can’t really get ahead of anybody. It’s kind of hard to go from being back to being first on the offense. It’s hard to get anything going.”

Remember in “Hoosiers” when Gene Hackman sends four players out on the court, stubbornly refusing to budge from his stance that efficient offense and tough defense will propel his Hickory Huskers to victory?  The town turns vicious, hurling obscenities and peanuts at embattled Norman Dale.  In response, he holds his black notebook above his head as if to say, “it’s the system and you can all kiss my ass.” That’s how I’m beginning to see Mike Babcock. 

Here’s what I hope:  stay the course.  If this is truly a result of the system, and not a team-wide offensive dive into the frigging toilet, then stay the course and learn how you can milk some offense out of this style.  Because while this is frustrating to us and the team itself, it’s the style of hockey that’s going to win in the Spring.

As for Pavel and Hank?  Well, as much as the Wings depended on them for offense prior to this move; the pressure just got turned up a notch.  Now production from this line, if it is actually going to be constructed, is essential.  Teams will be stacking against it.  The best defensive forwards, the best blue line pairings.  All this while forwards who have benefitted, however slightly, from playing on other lines with 13 and 40 will have to generate offense on their own.

It would be a risky move, and an admission from Babcock that the system may need a little tweaking from time to time.

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Comments

I initially read the comments from Robert Lang as thinly veiled criticism of “the system” (i.e. Babcock).  Did anyone else take it that way?  I agree with you, IWO, they need to stick with defensive hockey, because that is what works in the playoffs. They do need a quicker counter-punch to get more odd man rushes. Finally, the Wings have plenty of centers to allow Hank and Pavel onto the same line, i.e.  Lang, Cleary, Draper, Filpulla.  They need to put Hudler on a line where he can find the open ice and someone can feed him the puck.

Posted by w2j2 on 12/05/06 at 07:10 AM ET

As an individual who drafted both of these bums early in my office pool, I’ll add an emphatic “Golly, it’s about darn time.” I’m getting roughly half the production I expected from them.

Posted by jeffj from NB on 12/05/06 at 08:07 AM ET

I’ve heard Lang and Schneider both refer to the fact that the new “system” is holding them back.  Babcock is right to make them stick to it, because their free flowing puck possesion system wasn’t doing anything in the playoffs.  If you look at this roster, quite frankly, it’s a credit to Babcock’s system that they are where they are.  If only Holland had gotten him some players that can play that style, this team would be all set.

Posted by Bababooey on 12/05/06 at 09:08 AM ET

Baba, I agree, the Wings have mediocre talent.
The Wings are really behind other teams in talent in their farm system.  This is the result of playing so well for so many years, earning low draft rankings.  Going forward, if they must suffer through mediocre years to earn good draft choices, it could be a decade before they ice a dominant team again.  The only way for them to improve sooner is through trades and free agency.  It is in Ken Holland’s hands.

Posted by w2j2 on 12/05/06 at 11:15 AM ET

Zetterber & Datzky the Great on the same line means Zetterberg and Datzky the Great on the bench at the same time.  Now that concerns me.  Someone (I like to imagine maybe a new vice president) clued Babcock in, that if you are going to be shorthanded 10-12 times a game, you better have your best players killing penalties.  He starts using Zetterberg and the Great Datzky on the PK, and as Mick says ‘Bingo Bango’, PK problem solved.  So what happens now,
I don’t want to see Filppula, Hudler and Kopecky again.  They are too inexperienced, not fair to them or the organization.  I thought Hudler was doing real well on the Lang line, where did that go.  I am pretty tired of hearing “your best players have to be your best players’.  If your not using your best players talents effectively, it is not their fault they are no longer your best players.
Players, even your ‘best players’, don’t get put on the ice unless they are doing what the coach tells them to do.
Wings want to rotate 4 lines, with Z&D on the same line, they can’t even put together 3 effective lines.  AND..
Kronwall is still getting too much ice time for his experience.

Posted by Gramps from Hockeytown on 12/05/06 at 11:59 AM ET

I meant Filppula, Kopecky, and Hudler together as a a line.
aoologize for the mistake.

Posted by Gramps from Hockeytown on 12/05/06 at 12:02 PM ET

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