GDT: Game #51 | Wings @ Panthers | 7:30 PM

[Frk It]

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[Hammettf2b]

Patiently waiting for the lines to be announced.

 

[DeYarmond Edison]

At least Smith is getting PP time.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Pulkkinen out is a complete joke. Blashill is dumb as rocks at the moment.

 

[TheMule93]

Pulkkinen out is a complete joke. Blashill is dumb as rocks at the moment.

I disagree. Andersson is more useful than Pulkkinen. Both are liabilities on both sides of the ice, though Andersson slightly less so in the defensive zone. Plus he has experience on the pk.

Pulkkinen floats around in the neutral zone while they have the puck in our end and it pisses me off. I wonder if blash let him do that in the AHL.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Pulkkinen out is a complete joke. Blashill is dumb as rocks at the moment.

What exactly has Pulkkinen done to deserve playing time? He does nothing for the 4th line and he isn't even getting pp time.

 

[ap3x]

oh boy.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

What exactly has Pulkkinen done to deserve playing time? He does nothing for the 4th line and he isn't even getting pp time.

Maybe the question should be, "why is he not getting top 9 time and PP opportunities?" Because expecting to cram a round peg to fit through a square hole won't work. Besides, what has Helm and Glendening done to warrant top 9 time? What has Helm done to deserve opportunities on the PP? It's all really, really silly.

 

[RedWingzz]

Howard starting?

Good game guys, lets hope Mrazek is ready to go on Saturday. Gonna need to get off this 2 game losing streak fast.

Florida 4
Detroit 1

I will not be watching this game. Not worth the frustration. Let's hope we have a miracle win tonight. If I had to give the odds of us winning this, I'd put them at about 10%. And thats me being 100% serious.

Even if the offense comes to life (hahahaha, I know, not likely), we still will lose something like 4-3 or 5-3.

 

[RedWingzz]

Patiently waiting for the lines to be announced.

Get ready for the Helm-Datsyuk-Richards announcement. Coming soon.....

 

[Flowah]

I'd like to give Pulks top9 time but him sitting doesn't upset me too much. He's gotta start hitting the net. Every time he misses he just clears the zone for the other team and he misses a lot.

 

[RedWingzz]

I'd like to give Pulks top9 time but him sitting doesn't upset me too much. He's gotta start hitting the net. Every time he misses he just clears the zone for the other team and he misses a lot.

I'm already ready to move on from him. Sometimes AHL snipers just don't figure it out at the NHL level. We are too crowded up front, I'd look to trade him in the offseason. I bet we could get a 2nd/3rd round pick for him from someone.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Maybe the question should be, "why is he not getting top 9 time and PP opportunities?"

Because he wasted those chances earlier in the season and now looks worse than ever and his shot has developed in the exact opposite direction of what it should have. He's a kid with one great tool and that tool isn't working. That makes him useless.

 

[lgrwmike]

I am going to be at the game, hoping they can muster some offense.

 

[korrowan]

Because he wasted those chances earlier in the season and now looks worse than ever and his shot has developed in the exact opposite direction of what it should have. He's a kid with one great tool and that tool isn't working. That makes him useless.

He still looks as good other than all 1 winger in the top9. Rather watch him sputter than Brad Richards or Helm or whomever is up there wasting a spot game after game. At least Pulks has upside.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

If life has taught me one thing, its that the more pessimistic this board is about Detroit winning, the greater the chance of us winning.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

I disagree. Andersson is more useful than Pulkkinen. Both are liabilities on both sides of the ice, though Andersson slightly less so in the defensive zone. Plus he has experience on the pk.

Pulkkinen floats around in the neutral zone while they have the puck in our end and it pisses me off. I wonder if blash let him do that in the AHL.

What exactly has Pulkkinen done to deserve playing time? He does nothing for the 4th line and he isn't even getting pp time.

Pulkkinen works his ass off all the time. Constantly creates pressure on the forecheck and actually provides some unique offensive qualities compared to the rest of this team. Second in goals/60 behind Larkin, has 1 less point than both Richards and Helm in way less games, while playing with nobody near the caliber of Datsyuk. It's a no ****ing brainer. People rag on Pulkkinen all the time for no reason, he's played like 30 games in the NHL and has looked fine doing so. Way more capable of scoring goals and creating chances than 80% of our team.

 

[Pavels Dog]

He still looks as good other than all 1 winger in the top9. Rather watch him sputter than Brad Richards or Helm or whomever is up there wasting a spot game after game. At least Pulks has upside.

Helm has probably been one of our best players the last 20-30 games. It's a shame others don't see it. Pulks may have some upside but who cares if he never shows it? He takes bad penalties, is ridiculously weak on the puck and can't hit the net to save his life. There's absolutely no reason he should be a regular in the lineup.

 

[Vladdy84]

Nyquist-Z-Gator
Tats-Dats-Larkin
Richards-Riley-Pookie
Jurco-Luke-Helm

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Because he wasted those chances earlier in the season and now looks worse than ever and his shot has developed in the exact opposite direction of what it should have. He's a kid with one great tool and that tool isn't working. That makes him useless.

He's barely even played since returning from a long-term injury, and has been on the 4th line with no PP time

I don't know what you expect.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Because he wasted those chances earlier in the season and now looks worse than ever and his shot has developed in the exact opposite direction of what it should have. He's a kid with one great tool and that tool isn't working. That makes him useless.

That is the opposite of what happened. He was better than Helm at least in the top 9, and even when he didn't look great, he produced, which once again, is more than we can say than Helm.

 

[HIFE]

I disagree. Andersson is more useful than Pulkkinen. Both are liabilities on both sides of the ice, though Andersson slightly less so in the defensive zone. Plus he has experience on the pk.

Pulkkinen floats around in the neutral zone while they have the puck in our end and it pisses me off. I wonder if blash let him do that in the AHL.

Hmm. I consider myself one of Pulkkinen's biggest detractors but was very happy with his activity last night. He finally stood out in some way I thought. With Sheahan back I'm surprised Pulkks sits. Possibly Blash feels the need to focus on more solid defense as you say.

 

[Pavels Dog]

That is the opposite of what happened. He was better than Helm at least in the top 9, and even when he didn't look great, he produced, which once again, is more than we can say than Helm.

I'm sorry but I'm going to assume there is some bias around here against Helm and Abdelkader because Pulkkinen has a worse PPG in the NHL than both of them and he is a one-dimensional, small, slow scoring winger. I'm with Blashill that if their production is similar, I'd rather take the big, fast wingers that are good on the forecheck, can throw hits and can PK.

But I guess Pulkkinen has a good goal/60. Yay. I'm sure that means he'd be a 30 goal scorer if he played 20+ minutes per game.

 

[Mister Ed]

I'm assuming the forward lines will look like :

Larkin - Zetterberg - Abdelkader
Helm - Datsyuk - Richards
Tatar - Sheahan - Nyquist
Andersson - Glendening - Jurco

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

I'm sorry but I'm going to assume there is some bias around here against Helm and Abdelkader because Pulkkinen has a worse PPG in the NHL than both of them and he is a one-dimensional, small, slow scoring winger. I'm with Blashill that if their production is similar, I'd rather take the big, fast wingers that are good on the forecheck, can throw hits and can PK.

But I guess Pulkkinen has a good goal/60. Yay. I'm sure that means he'd be a 30 goal scorer if he played 20+ minutes per game.

Nice hasty conclusion you've drawn there.

And there's never anything inherently flawed about drawing assumptions.

Helm has been terrible in a scoring line capacity all season. He's a turnover machine, he's a possession blackhole, and ruins scoring opportunities. The same is true of Glendening when he's in a scoring line role. Wouldn't it be more logical to put Helm on a grind line rather than Pulkkinen?

Let's put it this way:

Helm and Pulkkinen have both struggled this year. Helm doesn't produce. Pulkkinen still produces sometimes. Helm can still play a mucking grinding game. Pulkkinen cannot. Wouldn't it therefore be more logical to put Helm on a checking line than Pulkkinen if we hold these variable to be true?

This has absolutely nothing to do with Abdelkader, incidentally.