Second Line Springs to Life
Filppula takes the puck to the net and draws a tripping call
Dave Sandford - Getty Images
Apparently it’s as easy to score against Chicago as it is to score at a brothel in Nevada. Just for the record, in both circumstances I am not speaking from experience. The second line of Kyle Calder, Robert Lang and Johan Franzen had it’s second great game in a row, pacing the Wings to a 6-2 victory over the Blackhawks.
The players on that line have registered 4 goals and 6 assists in their last two games. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is a Chicago Blackhawk team that:
Someone quipped that Detroit outscored Chicago 8-0 in that game. I like Jason Williams so it was nice to see him do well in Chicago. But I have no doubts the trade was the right move, as the Calder trade has coincided with a second line that has once again become a scoring line. Meanwhile Christy over at Behind the Jersey was able to upgrade her seats and get a nice view of Nick Lidstrom’s 200th goal from the front row.
I wonder if head coach Mike Babcock will have Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk center the top two lines when Hank returns from injury. Datsyuk has done well centering the top line over the past two games, tallying 5 assists and going +5. He seemed to have very good chemistry with rookie forward Valtteri Filppula. If that continues against teams not named the Blackhawks it might make sense to have Zetterberg center another line and see if Detroit can roll with three potent lines.
Babcock had both forwards center a scoring line at the start of the year and it didn’t work out very well. The reason was because Detroit had a dearth of scoring wingers. The Wings struggled to score goals and the head coach was ultimately forced to put both forwards on the same line. It worked as the top line of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom was the hottest line in the NHL during the month of February.
But the second line of Dan Cleary, Robert Lang and Jason Williams struggled to generate any offense. Here was the stat line for each player during the month of February:
That made the Wings a one-line team, albeit an incredibly good top line. Right now they appear to have two solid lines with Kyle Calder and Johan Franzen added to Langer’s line. That line has scored one fewer goal but registered one more assist over a two-game stretch than the previous line did during the entire month of February. Sure, February is the shortest month of the year, but that production just didn’t scream scoring line.
So with the red hot Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom line broken up due to injury, I suspect Mike Babcock might toy with putting Zetterberg on a different line when he returns from injury. The Wings will have Mikael Samuelsson back from a foot injury and Todd Bertuzzi might finally be able to play. The risk is minimal in putting Zetterberg on a separate line. If it doesn’t work and Detroit has troubles generating offense then you reunite that top line that was dominating the NHL last month.
But the upside and reward is substantial. Detroit would go from having one very good line to having three solid scoring lines. That would make it very difficult for opposing coaches to try and shut down Detroit’s offense. And even in this scenario where Babcock would have Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lang center the top three lines, he could still reunite Hank and Pavel during key situations: say, for instance, on the top power play unit, the penalty kill, or at the end of a period or late in games when Detroit needs a goal.
Jiri Hudler Johan Franzen Mathieu Schneider Nicklas Lidstrom Red Wings Robert Lang Valtteri Filppula3 Comments
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[…] … The Wings won last night, 6-2 over Chicago. I watched the game but don’t have a heck of a lot to say about it, except to say that it’s nice to see the Wings can produce offense without Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. However, as Dave at Gorilla Crouch has pointed out today, the Blackhawks aren’t exactly a Grade “A” opponent, so the jury’s still out. […]
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[…] When Kyle Calder first joined the Red Wings the line of Calder, Robert Lang and Johan Franzen was very good. The big question is twofold: is Henrik Zetterberg going to be able to play when the playoffs start, and if he is, where do you play him? Do you take a guy who has missed seven weeks of hockey and make him your top-line center? […]