LOGIN | REGISTER | RSS FEEDS

Abel to Yzerman

SRO At The Joe?  McCarty To Play Friday

by IwoCPO on 03/27/08 at 03:22 AM ET
Comments (0)

Confirmation came from all corners yesterday afternoon: Darren McCarty will make his return Friday night against the Bitter Blues.  If you’re an out of market fan and you don’t have the NHL Network you’re, of course, screwed.  If you’re a Blues fan contributing to the Aaron Downey is a coward conversation over at St. Louis Game Time, this will add a whole new dynamic to that enlightening discussion.  You’re also screwed, but that’s more genetic than anything else.

Drake night, McCarty returns, Downey most likely in the lineup due to the Homer and Filppula injuries.  A meaningless game against a once-competitive team that has turned pathetic has suddenly become the hottest ticket of the season. 

With five regular season games left and with Holmstrom’s injury looking more and more Gilchrist-like, the importance of McCarty’s return has been ramped to the next level.  If he shows better than average conditioning and decent hands, Friday might be the beginning of a long string of games for Mac.

St. James

McCarty’s appearance against St. Louis will be his first in a Wings jersey since May 3, 2004. The team was off Wednesday.

“Knowing Darren, I’m sure he’s excited,” Holland said. “I’m sure he’ll be a little bit emotional.”

Yeah. A little.  He’s going to be a bull in a Blue china shop is more like it.  Nice little bit of irony that Blues fans are in tears over Downey refusing to engage in the final minute of a 2-1 game Tuesday, and could now very well see their boys beat down Friday during multiple shifts.  And if Dallas Drake returns in time to celebrate, you know, “Drake Night”, then a full-fledged donnybrook may be in order.

Heck, we may even see those three on the same line.  Filppula’s allegedly ready to go Friday, which means Hartigan will probably return to his rightful place in the press box and lines could look something like this:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Filppula-Franzen-Cleary
McCarty-Draper-Maltby
Drake-Downey-Hudler

Yep, I’ve got Kopecky sitting too.  That could justifiably be Hudler, and if McCarty proves he can have an impact and stay in the lineup, Happy may turn into a post-season casualty. 

But not likely.  I just don’t see a playoff lineup that includes Downey and McCarty.  If Holmstrom returns for the first round, and if I had to predict right now whether he will I’d give you a firm no on that, here are the lines I’d throw out there.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Filppula-Franzen-Cleary
McCarty-Draper-Maltby
Drake-Kopecky-Samuelsson

If McCarty earns a spot, that’s a tough lineup to beat.  Each line offers scoring, grit and responsible defensive forwards.  Sam on the fourth line?  Yep. You’re damned right. It’s where he belongs.  Put it on net Sammy. Just once. One shot that doesn’t fly three feet wide, maybe twice a game and I’d be happy. 
 
I’m gonna be honest with you.  I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this.  Each time I consider what lines we might see in the playoffs, I’m leaving someone out who can add something to the mix. We can throw potential combinations out there right up to 12 April without having any idea what Uncle Mike’s gonna do.  Someone’s sitting who probably deserves a spot.  Hudler, Kopecky, Downey—even Samuelsson. 

Posting has been light at best the last week or so.  I understand how that’s affected you and your families and I apologize.  Without sounding overly dramatic, I will say this: Tennessee ain’t DC, and vice versa.  When the real job gets a little more time intensive and the work day gets a little longer, something’s got to give.  In the interests of domestic bliss, the blog has been the victim.  Thanks to Baroque and Andrew and the other geopolitical experts, the conversations in the comments have kept this place interesting. Hopefully, we’ll be back to some sort of regular frequency of posting very soon.

Live blogging the game the other night was fun.  Pending your feedback, we may bring that back for the playoffs. Let me know what you think.

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

Comments

Be the first to comment.

Add a Comment

Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.

Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.

Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.

Most Recent Blog Posts

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977.  No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y.  Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation.  There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature.  Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!