No Quincey or Lidstrom tonight....Smith and Janik are in. I will post a review of Smith's play tonight after the game.
It's good to see that Franzen is making joking about being played with Helm and Miller by saying he "hopes he doesn't slow them down, but there has to be a time where we see him take this team on his back and run. I mean he's making $5 million for the next four seasons and to me he hasn't shown that he's worth that in the slightest.
Not to bring up bad memories but here is a look at Franzen's finish AFTER his glorious five goal game on Feb 2 last season:
27 GP: 2g, 12a
Previous 49 GP: 26g, 15a
This season
Last 14 GP: 4g, 2a (half of which came on the PP)
He's also pointless in his last four and a minus-6 in their last three games (all losses). I get his regular linemate is out of the lineup and we all know what kind of effect Datsyuk has on each and every shift both offensively and defensively. But show some freaking fortitude Franzen and play with a little heart tonight.