Thursday Odds and Ends

Update: Matt from On The Wings had this to say in his comment section regarding Mike Green and the Norris trophy. Not sure I could agree more. Golf claps and finger snaps. If you let him play on the Wing, I'm not sure his defensive abilities would even warrant a Selke nomination.....Ok I'm just being bitchy now.

Obviously, I fully believe Nick deserves over both of them, but I have a feeling he’s not going to get it this year because there’s such an obvious “Lidstrom fatigue” timing out unfortunatley with “Green hysteria.”

Green is a like an offense-only forward that has a “D” next to his name on the roster and spends time near the blueline when his team is cycling. I’d love to know his history, because it’s like some coach ran out of defensemen and cast lots for fillers, with Green getting the short straw.
At least Ericsson actually became a legitimate defenseman after changing over from forward. Green should give up the pretense.
I could handle Chara because he actually plays the position in a manner approaching the job requirements.

Apparently Hitchcock is becoming very frustrated with his teams inability to score and has once again shifted his lines. The most noticeable change is Huselius dropping down to the third line.

From George Malik:

Umberger-Vermette-Nash
Chimera-Williams-Voracek
Huselius-Malhotra-Modin
Torres-Peca-Dorsett

Commodore-Methot
Tyutin-Klesla
Rome-Russell

I think the bigger issue here would be using the last change. Despite having it on Tuesday he hardly used it to his advantage. Nash still played the vast majority of his shifts against Zetterbergs line. I understand the BJ coach attempting to use this as motivation for his star player to elevate his game...but it's not working. Nash is still young and learning. That added pressure may not have the same effect as it would on a seasoned veteran. My guess, Hitchcock will be taking advantage of the last change much more tonight.

As everyone knows, the nominees for the Norris were announced today. And as expected it's Chara, Green, and of course Lidstrom. St James had this quote from Nash regarding Lidstroms play:

He's just so good positionally - he doesn't get out of position very often," Nash said. "He's proven over the years with all the Stanley Cups you don't need to play too physical - he rides out his checks, he makes sure he slows you down, he stays in position. "I laugh at the critics that say he doesn't play physical."

True. But there is no way Lidstrom will win the Norris. The media apparently finds consistently outstanding and superior defensive play to be boring...go figure? I'll say it again, Green had a great offensive year, but watching him in the playoffs shows he still has a lot to work on in his defensive game. He's still really young at 23 and it will come with time. Sloppy outlet passes and lack of proper defensive positioning have been plaguing him for awhile. But apparently the people are ready for someone new and flashier...maybe they just enjoy his frat boy tribal tattoos and faux hawk....

Matt from On the Wings has his game day update as well, with a call for more Octopus wielding.

Finally, George Malik posts a few articles about Brad Stuart. Nice read.

"He's a very quiet guy," teammate Jonathan Ericsson said. "He never raises his voice or anything. But on the ice, he's tough and mean. It's got to come out somewhere."