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Should Draper Play?
by Paul on 06/02/09 at 06:12 AM ET
Comments (3)
from Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press,
As long as the Wings are winning, Draper will be watching. Babcock said he was reluctant to shuffle his lineup just to get Draper back in there. Babcock is not going to bench Justin Abdelkader or Darren Helm, who are playing better than some of their more famous teammates. Babcock could sit Ville Leino or Kirk Maltby again, but he apparently feels the team is better with them.
It is not entirely fair to say Abdelkader and Helm have surpassed Draper. First of all, while Draper is healthy enough to play, he is not 100%—he said Monday his groin injury is supposed to take two weeks to heal, and he “condensed it to seven, eight days because of the time of year.”
And second, it’s not like Draper suddenly was benched. Babcock has a good thing going and doesn’t want to tinker with it.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Kris+Draper,
Comments
I understand the feeling that you shouldn’t change a winning lineup. And I hate myself for even questioning it.
But going to Pittsburgh, if Detroit can dominate face-offs like they did, or close, in game one, they can nearly negate the Pens’ last change advantage. Draper would help this cause dramatically.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 06/02/09 at 07:48 AM ET
I have to believe if Drapes were 100% he’d be playing.
Posted by Hippy Dave from Portland by way of Detroit on 06/02/09 at 10:42 AM ET
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It sure would be nice if Draper and Datsyuk were ready to go for the road games. When you dont have last change and cant get the match ups, its nice to have 2 centermen who are near the top of the league in face off %, and are both former Selke trophy winners.
Posted by jwad on 06/02/09 at 06:56 AM ET