Line Consistancy May Start with Hudler-Helm-Abdelkader Trio
Whew. There is nothing like ending up a six game losing streak in impressive fashion. The Detroit Red Wings were able to at least get the ship pointing in the right direction. We’ll know if it’s fully righted after the Avalanche come to town on Tuesday. Anaheim didn’t win on a seven game road trip. I don’t want to say everything is 100% perfect in Hockeytown. It’s not like the Wings ran rough shod over Vancouver and San Jose on back to back nights. But there is something that came out of Saturday’s game…a consistent third line.
Those of you who have read my columns probably noticed Jiri Hudler has a bit of a soft spot in my heart. I get the feeling Mike Babcock doesn’t feel the same way. Hudler was benched several times last season and has already been a healthy scratch this year. Hopefully now we’ve got something here.
Though they have been held off the score sheet, Hudler with Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader have been absolutely fantastic together against the Ducks. I know it’s easy to say after the fact, but I saw this unit coming.
The Wings didn’t play all that bad against the Flames, but still suffered the loss. It was in the third period of that game, Helm, Hudler, and Abdelkader found the ice together. They pressured…they worked…they attacked. But they didn’t score. The credit I will give to Mike Babcock is that he notices that kind of puck possession. Those three started on a line together against Anaheim.
Normally, I give Mike Babcock a lot of rope. One of my few complaints is his constant turnover of lines. Hudler has been Pavs and Cleary, and he’s been a healthy scratch. Filppula has been with Zetterberg and Franzen, but he’s also spent time with Datsuyk. Bertuzzi has been with just about everyone. Holmstrom has been on the first line. Holmstrom has been on the fourth line. I understand this roster has played together for the better part of three years, but consistency with each other would be helpful.
That’s why I think we can now settle three people down into the third line. Helm and Abs have been together most of the season. They were actually with Bert at the season’s outset. Coach Babcock is always looking for the right units that really have it going. I think as of right now, it’s having Jiri Hudler playing on the third line.
Coach now just needs to find out what works everywhere else. Personally, I work it around Johan Franzen. He’s the streakiest scorer on the team, so let’s get him someone to help him streak. Big number 93 has played mostly with Henrik, but I like him better with Pavel. Let’s get those two with Todd Bertuzzi. They can feed the Mule.
That leaves a Filppula-Zetterberg-Cleary second line. Good luck trying to score on those three. If Cleary can get it going, there is enough offense to supply a nice scoring punch.
Bottom line, the Red Wings need to take advantage of this home stand. One of the best ways to do that is to let some guys get going together for a while. Sure, I have no problem double shifting Hank or Pavs if they are rolling, but let’s have some line consistency for more than a period, please.