The Dirt
Samuelsson will start out on the top line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Want to know what he think about that?
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p>Mikael Samuelsson on pressure of playing on <a href=”https://twitter.com/search/%23RedWings”>#RedWings</a> top line: “Not to be cocky, but I’ve been here before.”</p>— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) <a href=”https://twitter.com/BradGalli/status/331425836601319425″>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote><script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Bertuzzi will start out on the 4th line tonight with Eaves and Emmerton. Looks like Tootoo will be the odd man out.
I’d like to think Babcock is just hardcore trolling Samuelsson and shortly after the game starts, he’ll be 4th lined, and Bert will be moved up.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-partner=”tweetdeck”><p><a href=”https://twitter.com/search/%23RedWings”>#RedWings</a> @<a href=”https://twitter.com/datsyuk13″>datsyuk13</a> when asked about addition of Samuelsson to his line tonight in Game 4: “Everybody pulling piano. It’s playoff time.”</p>— The Wheel Deal (@Bill_Roose) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Bill_Roose/status/331448990438678530”>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Datsyuk and Zetterberg will start out together, but if things aren’t going very well in the beginning of the game, I think we’ll see them split up.
No changes on defense, Lashoff still in and White and Colaiacovo still scratched.
Danny Cleary said
“I think Hiller definitely had a night off (Saturday), We have to be hard on him. I think the focus on Monday will be getting pucks to the net from all different areas, getting traffic. Just create some sort of chaos and confusion.”
I like this game plan.
Babcock was asked about how losing Abdelkader affects the team and said
It’s not as good. We don’t have anybody with any kind of weight to play there… We tried Brunner and Nyquist and Andersson there, we could put Franzen there, but then we’re kind of a one line team. .. When you’re really deep and you lose people, it’s not as big a deal, when you’re like up and you lose people it’s a bigger deal.
There were a couple other statements by Babcock that were interesting as well
“When we gave up that second goal, we let it affect us, we shouldn’t have let it affect us. That’s what the game’s all about: poise and maturity. We didn’t show that.”
This is another side effect of having such a young, inexperienced team. We still have some veterans who know what they’re doing and have been here before, but I’ve never see the team with so many rookies at once. They’re experiencing trial by fire right now and trying to learn while being under the most pressure they’ve experienced so far. Growing pains hurt, but they’re expected, and they have to happen in order to move forward.
How about a special teams comment…
As a coach standing on the bench, when you’re getting all those power plays in the first period, it’s like you don’t even want them. You just want to play 5 on 5 and get going. If you score 3, great but a lot of ice time for those guys. They had played 8 minutes after the 1st and that’s too much.
Boudreau said Lydman will probably miss more than 2 games, and Sheldon Souray will take his place in the lineup tonight. He specifically mentioned that Lydman would probably miss more games than Abby would miss… which is irrelevant and goes along with the injury dictating the punishment mentality that’s fucking things up in the NHL discipline department.
This was an interesting tweet from the Red Wings account this morning. Paterson getting in some practice time during morning skate. If Jimmy was at the other end, does this mean that Paterson was getting practice time instead of Gustavsson? It probably means nothing, but I still find it interesting.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-partner=”tweetdeck”><p>Game 2 hero Gustav Nyquist shoots on Jake Paterson during morning skate. <a href=”http://t.co/olRP5Hme69″ title=”http://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings/status/331426779040468992/photo/1″>twitter.com/DetroitRedWing…</a></p>— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings/status/331426779040468992″>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Danny DeKeyser will have surgery tomorrow for his broken right thumb. We already knew he was done for the season, but he and the Wings had been hoping to avoid needing surgery. No such luck. Heal up Danny, we’re going to need you for many many years to come.
Abdelkader Suspension Reaction
Abby had a press conference today regarding his 2 game suspension, here’s a little of what he had to say…
“I want to reiterate that there was no intent to injure,” Abdelkader said. “I don’t mean to injure anyone, put anyone at harm. I have respect for every one of the players in this league. It’s a privilege that we get to play in the NHL. I play a hard game, I play physical. Things happen really fast out there.”
“I hope he’s back right away and he’s not injured,” Abdelkader said. “It’s an unfortunate play.
“I play a hard game, I play physical. I’m going to still play my physical game, get in on the forecheck, finish checks, but I’ve got to be smart about it. The speed of the game, it happens so fast. It’s unfortunate what happened.”
“Even if you’re not trying to target the head, even if you’re trying to target the shoulder, you’ve got to really get low on the hits,” Abdelkader said. “You can’t get anywhere near the head. Anything close, obviously everything’s under a microscope. I’m still going to be physical, but you’ve got to go for the body, which I was trying to do.”
“Ever since I came into the league, in the last short while, they’re really keeping an eye on big hits,” Abdelkader said. “You don’t see any big hits anymore through the neutral zone, through anywhere, really. Players are really concerned about making a hit in the game. The game’s so fast that one inch, one move by a player and you might hit his head and you’re going to be out for a while, unfortunately.”
“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “You want to be out there helping your team, doing whatever you can to get the wins. It’s unfortunate and I feel bad already about the effect that it had last game.
“Unfortunately, maybe it was a turning point.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p>Abdelakder: “I haven’t slept..last night. It’s gonna be tough. I feel bad already about the effect it had on last game.” <a href=”https://twitter.com/search/%23RedWings”>#RedWings</a></p>— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) <a href=”https://twitter.com/BradGalli/status/331431558886072320″>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p>Justin Abdelkader said he’s had a tough time sleeping the last two nights, said he’ll be biggest cheerleader for <a href=”https://twitter.com/search/%23RedWings”>#RedWings</a> tonight.</p>— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) <a href=”https://twitter.com/HeleneStJames/status/331431700318011393″>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Final thought on the whole Abdelkader situation: If you think Abby is a dirty player, intended to hurt anyone, or shit on his character because of this, you’re wrong. That’s the nicest way I can put it. A misjudgement in execution had big consequences and that’s all. Abby didn’t line Lydman up for a bad hit, he didn’t lost his temper and lash out, he made a mistake in a fast game and it cost him and the team. It sucks, Abby feels terrible, and he’ll be more careful in the future.
Datsyuk makes me smile
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-partner=”tweetdeck”><p><a href=”https://twitter.com/search/%23RedWings”>#RedWings</a> @<a href=”https://twitter.com/datsyuk13″>datsyuk13</a> when asked about addition of Samuelsson to his line tonight in Game 4: “Everybody pulling piano. It’s playoff time.”</p>— The Wheel Deal (@Bill_Roose) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Bill_Roose/status/331448990438678530”>May 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
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The attitude, mindset, and identity of a team starts with management and coaching and works its way down to the players. I like and respect Mike Babcock both as a coach and as a person. I have a great appreciation for his understanding and utilization of the psychological aspect of the game. His attitude and philosophy have a big impact on the players and the team. I hope his approach to the game tonight is echoed by every single player…
Mike Babcock offered some advice Sunday. It came after he said the Red Wings were still in Game 3 when they again panicked in a third period, and if they had gone to the net more, or if Johan Franzen had scored on his breakaway or Pavel Datsyuk when he hit the post, the game would not have gotten to 1-0 Ducks, let alone 4-0.
Then, Babcock said, “You can make this, as a reporter, as bad as you want or you can make it as good as you want. You’ve just got to choose your attitude.
“I’m going to choose mine. And I’m going to say we were right there knocking on the door, and we are going to win tomorrow and make it a best of three.”
Lineup
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Forwards |
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Pavel Datsyuk |
Mikael Samuelsson |
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Johan Franzen |
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Gustav Nyquist |
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Defense |
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Goalies |
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Healthy Scratches |
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Injured |
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Danny Dekeyser (Broken Thumb) |
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Darren Helm (Back) |
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Drew Miller (Broken Hand) |
Suspended: Justin Abdelkader
Ducks Lineup
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Forwards |
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Saku Kouvu |
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Defense |
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Sheldon Souray |
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Goalies |
