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Red Wings News & Notes: Well-rounded top guns Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg may be two of the top offensive players in the NHL, but there is another element to their game that fits right into a long standing tradition with the Red Wings. Both Datsyuk and Zetterberg are also excellent defensive players, and both are finalists this season for the Selke Trophy, which goes to the top defensive forward in the game. "It’s just one of those things we believe in here," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said during an NHL conference call on Tuesday. "Your best player has to be good [all-around]. You can’t be hiding him. I’m not interested in that. I want my best players on the ice." That's a philosophy the Red Wings had when Scotty Bowman was coach and players like Steve Yzerman (2000 Selke winner) and Sergei Fedorov (1994 and 1996 Selke winner) were among the marquee players. They too were top offensive players and they excelled at the other end of the ice as well. "Partway through last year made a point of making sure Z had the matchup some nights, then Pavel had the matchups some nights and [Kris] Draper did," said Babcock. "So we said they all had to be responsible. They all had to be able to kill penalties five-on-three and they all had to take big faceoffs. We just think that’s the way to go." And Babcock doesn't take that approach with superstars like Datsyuk and Zetterberg. "We’re going to do the same with [Valtteri] Filppula. You have to be able to play against the best people," said Babcock. "The same with the Mule (Johan Franzen). That’s our philosophy here. Scotty had that philosophy when he came here with Yzerman. That will continue to be our philosophy." Babcock believes it helps the Red Wings as they will try to slow down the Stars' attack, which has been led by the potent top line of Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen. "We don’t believe that you can play - well, you can - but if you’re playing against [Mike] Ribeiro all night long and he’s not worried about your ability to score, he doesn’t have to play defense," Babcock said. "When you play against these guys, he’s got to worry about playing both sides of the puck." But Zetterberg pointed out that the Stars can do the same thing with their lines, and he said that should make for an intriguing chess match. "I think also Dallas has basically the same setup. They have four good lines that can play against anyone," said Zetterberg. "It’s going to be interesting to see how the matchups, how a big part of game it will be or if we’re basically we’re just going to floor all lines." Injury report: Filppula misses second straight day of practice Red Wings Valtteri Filppula did not skate for a second straight day, but is still hopeful that he might be ready for Game 1 on Thursday night. "I'm supposed to skate tomorrow and hopefully it feels good so I can go tomorrow," Filppula told reporters in Detroit. Filppula suffered a leg injury in Game 4 of the Colorado series last Thursday. "I expect him to go,'' coach Mike Babcock said. "Everything, weight-room wise and everything is going kind of what we expected. I expect him to skate with our team tomorrow. If at that time it doesn't happen, then that'll be a change our plan and I'll update. But that (Filppula playing) has kind of been our plan all the way through.'' Red Wings line combinations and defensive pairings With Valtteri Filppula sitting out a second straight day of practice with a leg injury, the Red Wings made no adjustments to the lines they've been using in practice.
Holland an Armstrong supporter Red Wings GM Ken Holland is considered one of the best in the business, and he thinks if any team is the market for a new GM, former Stars general manager Doug Armstrong would be an ideal choice. Holland gave Armstrong credit for putting a lot of this current Dallas team together, except for the acquisition of Brad Richards obviously, and for the bold move of making Brenden Morrow captain at the expense of Mike Modano. "Everyone talks about Morrow as a tremendous captain and the heart of their team, but Doug Armstrong was the one who had the guts to do it," Holland told the Windsor Star. "In my opinion, the discussion starts and ends with Doug Armstrong for anyone looking to hire a general manager. He's the best guy available." Quotable "Whoever is winning the faceoffs plays in the middle." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock on whether Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg plays center when they are on the same line
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