Without making the obvious comments here about the regional differences between us, I have to say that they have no idea what they are talking about.

Forsberg in his prime was better than Zetterberg is now. But the last two years Zetterberg is a better player, and will continue to be until Forsberg retires. Z may one day reach the level Forsberg had in his prime, but that hinges solely on playoff performance. Zetterberg has a better nose for the net and plays better defense. He is also one of the best PKers in the league; Forsberg never was. The flipside is that in his prime, Forsberg was a far better playmaker. He was more lethal on the PP. His size allowed him to protect the puck and dish out a lot of punishment.

Because of Bertuzzi’s back injury, I’m willing to call Bert and Harntell a wash. But don’t try to tell me Hartnell at his best is better than Bert at his best.

The player that he should’ve mentioned is Sullivan. Sullivan is a better player than Cleary or Franzen, hands down. It’s not even close.

Either way, injuries are not an excuse for either club. They both have a ton of guys out (with the Erat injury they are about equal now). They both still have to play. I know someone will bring this to the conversation, so I might as well start it—even if you want to say the Preds injuries hurt them more than the Wings’, the refs more than made up for the difference.

Posted by Nathan on 03/14/07 at 09:41 AM ET

Hah. While I’ll take a healthy Forsberg over any of the other guys, Scott Hartnell is no Todd Bertuzzi. Add to that the fact that the Wings are also missing Markov, Cleary and Franzen, and I think you have to be in a deep state of denial to think that Nashville lost last night because they’re more injured than Detroit.

Posted by Pat on 03/14/07 at 09:45 AM ET

The only thing I’ll say is I wish that person had written me.

Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 03/14/07 at 09:48 AM ET

Forsberg, isn’t and never was the MVP for the Preds, he never was the best player on the ice since the trade.  Zetterberg has been the best Red Wing for months now and that loss is monumental.

Posted by Heaton on 03/14/07 at 09:55 AM ET

As an outside observer to this Wings/Preds dispute - and a FLAMES fan - I just hope that these two teams beat each other up some more, cause a few more bumps and bruises as we’ll probably be playing one of these teams in the first round!!

Good luck though!!

Posted by Mac from Canada on 03/14/07 at 09:58 AM ET

Complete and utter nonsense.  The Wings have more “key” guys down than do the Preds.  Forsberg has not managed to really contribute to the Preds yet so how he’s even a factor in this argument is beyond me.  As mentioned above, Zetterberg’s importance to the team cannot be overemphasized and as a Wings fans even I’m impressed that other guys were able to step up and fill the hole.  I was expecting another game like we had against the Bruins.  Erat was injured toward the end of the game yesterday (hardly an excuse for the team’s loss then).

And while I don’t like bringing up the officiating, it seems obvious to me that at least one ref was trying to give the game away!!!!!! 

Posted by snafu from Michigan on 03/14/07 at 10:10 AM ET

I’m only going to comment on the Zetterberg/Forsberg topic as the Wings still don’t know what they’ve got in Bertuzzi yet.  Let’s look at a few things:

First of all, Nashville has only had Forsberg for just over a month.  During that time, he has played 7 games, has 1 goal, 5 assists and is a -1.  Zetterberg has played 63 games with the Wings this season alone.  In that time, the Wings have relied on his offensive and defensive presence and averages over a point-per-game.  His ice time is much greater with the club, as well. 

Let’s not talk about who the better player is, as Forsberg is still obviously in pain, even when healthy enough to play.  What’s important is how much a team relies on that particular player.  There is no question that the Wings miss Zetterberg more than Nashville misses Foppa.  The Preds simply didn’t have him for a long enough period of time to develop that relationship to the complexity of the Wings and Z.

Posted by Matt from Royal Oak, MI on 03/14/07 at 10:10 AM ET

Looking at last nights boxscore Zidlicky was -5, and Timonen was -3.  How can one of your best defensemen be on the ice for every goal against!?

Nashville will be out in the first round, they’ll be out in four games if they have to face minnesota.

Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 03/14/07 at 10:17 AM ET

Whether you think Forsberg or Zetterberg is currently the better player, both losses were critical to their respective teams. I’m not sure how many injuredplayers the Preds have compared to the Wings, but it’s safe to say that both teams are missing quite a few key players (the Wings are missing Holmstrom, Zetterberg, Bertuzzi, Markov, Franzen, & Cleary) that it seemed like a pretty even match-up based on how many injured players each team had. It wasn’t like the Wings were healthy and the Preds had all the injured players.

Posted by Christy on 03/14/07 at 10:21 AM ET

Hartnell vs Bertuzzi and Hank vs Floppa… say what you want but none of them are any good right now.  How good can they be if they are injured?  To compare injured players against each other is simply moot.  Nonsense.  But hey, whatever makes you feel better about yourself…

Back to the issue.  If the Preds don’t have the depth in their system to compete in the NHL, well, that isn’t any fault of the Wings.  The Wings 4th line is made up of entirely minor leaguers.  Then throw a couple more to finish off the rest of the roster. 

Trying to be totally fair, the Wings got goals from players that would normally not score.  I mean, Maltby scored his 2nd of the year.  Lang scored.  What do you want?  You want the Wings to acknowledge that they wouldn’t have won if the whole Preds team was healthy?  Do we get to compare a full healthy roster of the Wings as well?  IF is a pretty big word that could lead to, well, anything.
If I would’ve picked the winning numbers to the lottery…

Get real.

Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 03/14/07 at 10:38 AM ET

Well without getting into who’s better than who, Calder is putting up better numbers than Forsberg since being traded and I think this guy should stop buying hunks of soap and thinking he has crack.  I see Forseberg being names player of the week and month how many times?  Zetterberg is 2 x’s the player Forsberg is right now and Forsberg’s best days are behind him.  Bert would run Forsberg, Erat and that little piss head TooToo into the ground.<br
Both teams are suffering without top players, the Wings just have more depth than the Preds.  What about TooToo, he is not a hockey player, he should change his name to Avery Jr.

Posted by Tony from Mid-Michigan on 03/14/07 at 10:44 AM ET

Talk to Buffalo about injuries.  They did very well in the playoffs last year with, as far as I could tell, approximately 2 legit NHL defensemen, and they are being hit pretty hard this year as well.

I don’t hear too much whining from them—and they can at least claim that injuries played a big part in costing them a Cup.  Nashville hasn’t gotten that close yet.

And I’m surprised he didn’t mention Sullivan.  I think the Predators miss him tremendously.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/14/07 at 11:36 AM ET

I would say the fan who sent you that is delusional. lol

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 03/14/07 at 11:44 AM ET

Hank has been the team’s most important player this season and would have been (may still be) a Hart finalist. Like others have said, Forsberg in his prime, healthy and all, was a better player than Zetterberg is now. However, that doesn’t mean Hank’s not well on his way to being that dominant. It wasn’t for nothing that he was called the next Peter Forsberg before he came to the NHL.

As far as the injuries go, Forsberg has been a non-factor so far, with most of their success coming before he arrived. So, they’re really only down Sullivan and Hartnell as far as big names go.

To contrast, the Wings obviously have a lot of key guys out. Aside from Zetterberg, Franzen, Cleary and Markov have all played major roles this season. The Wings definitely should be the worst off of the two, but they have guys who can step up and fill in. That’s probably what has this Preds fan mad, that even when injured, the Wings are dangerous.

Posted by Matt Saler from Grand Rapids, MI on 03/14/07 at 12:27 PM ET

Yes, had the Preds been healthy, they probably would’ve beaten the Wings. But this is mostly because the Wings are missing so many key guys and they were also playing against the officials (if the no-call on Tootoo and call on Schneider isn’t evidence of this, I don’t know what is). If BOTH teams had been 100% healthy and the officiating had been better, there’s no telling what would have happened.

It is unfair to compare Hartnell and Bertuzzi, because we have yet to see how Bert plays in the Winged Wheel (look what it did for Calder). As far as Forsberg and Zetterberg…you really can’t compare the two. Forsberg has been a phenomenal player his entire career—but that career appears to be coming to an end. Zetterberg has also been great his entire career, but he has a lot more hockey left in him. If you compare their careers, yes, Forsberg is better. But that’s not what makes the difference to the teams they are on now. As has been pointed out numerous times, Zetter is much more important.

Posted by Megan from Grand Rapids, Mi on 03/14/07 at 01:05 PM ET

The comment makes modest sense in that the injuries to both teams have forced them to rely on some young players a bit more than normal.  Last night Hudler and Filpulla combined for 4 points, whereas Scottie Upshall only chipped in a goal…for Philly.

Posted by cjeder on 03/14/07 at 01:31 PM ET

Somebody missed his nap.

Zetterberg could very well be a late-blooming player of Forsbergian proportions.  History will be the judge of that,  but if we’re comparing relative importance in terms of impact and on-ice leadership, they’re even. 

Hartnell vs. Bertuzzi?  We don’t know at which level Bertuzzi will play yet, but even if he turns out to be 20-goal man with size, he’s and Hartnell are game-breakers whose physical games wreak havoc on the opposition.

The Wings also have Cleary’s 20 goals and Franzen’s penalty-killing out, as well as #2 defenceman Danny Markov, and against NIchol, Sullivan, and now Erat, that washes out—save the fact that Erat’s a wing-killer.

All of that being said, injuries stink, but a win is still two points, regardless of who’s playing or not playing.  The Red Wings worked harder than the Predators on Tuesday, so they won.  That win counts just as much as it would if both teams were healthy.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 03/14/07 at 02:13 PM ET

Comparing Hartnell to Bertuzzi is like comparing a lion with a bobcat.
Bertuzzi has had some pretty damn good seasons in his career, and is a feared player when he is on the ice with his bone crushing hits.
Hartnell has never scored more than 25 goals ( 93 goals in 434 NHL games ) and has only scored more than 20 goals twice.
Bertuzzi on the other hand has scored 25 goals three times, has also had a 36 and 46 goal season ( 224 goals in 717 NHL games ).
If Hartnell played 868 NHL games he is on pace for 186 goals, well below Bertuzzi’s 224 goals in 717 games.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 03/14/07 at 03:27 PM ET

I have to respond to this.  I can’t help myself.

Any true fan and follower of this great game know that injuries are part of any season.  Sometimes they’re minor and irrelevant, and sometimes they dramatically affect the depth of a team. 

Both teams have certainly been hit by the injury bug over the past few weeks and are missing key players.  However, it’s the better TEAM that comes out on top at the end.  It’s all about depth.  Last night the Wings depth showed what it’s capable of when given the opportunity.  They played hard and took advantage of their minutes.  And we’ll see if they can match that performance again tonight at home.

Believe me, nobody up here would ever accuse another team, especially the Preds, of beating us because we have too many inuries.  The Wings laid an egg at home against Boston on Sunday and it wasn’t the injuries that cost them that game.  It is what it is, and that’s hockey. 

The Preds are a great team and are well coached and will be neck and neck with the Wings right to the end I’m sure.

Go Wings.

Posted by Jeff from Hockeytown on 03/14/07 at 03:52 PM ET

Trotz will be neck and neck with Detroit? lol

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 03/14/07 at 04:39 PM ET

There’s not much you can add to this so I’ll just:

*raise my eyebrow*

Posted by SweWings from Sweden on 03/14/07 at 09:23 PM ET