Datsyuk looking good w/out Zetterberg so far

[Airborn 0]

Dats has been great lately; he is far and away the best stick handler in the game.

The play he made last night, using one hand to grab the puck, doing a spino-rama to get away from the Preds defenseman, then making a perfect feed to a crashing Lidstrom was incredible.

[clutchngrab 12]

Dats is one of the best playmakers in the game, but you know Dats is on his game when he is shooting the puck. I get all happy inside when he shoots from bad angles. That means he is going to have a good game.

Also, he has turned into one of the best defensive forwards on the team (if not the nhl) without sacrificing much offensively. Nobody seems to mention that, but it is huge.

[Statiklullaby87 0]

this is my first post so take it easy on me......

does anyone think that datsyuk's recent playoff performance woes can be attributed to the amount of leadership on the team? as far as forwards i mean, he's always had yzerman, shanny, hull, robitaille,fedorov,draper, maybe now since most of them are gone and he's one of the offensive leaders and point producers he will realize that he has to step up? what do you think?

[Airborn 0]

this is my first post so take it easy on me......

does anyone think that datsyuk's recent playoff performance woes can be attributed to the amount of leadership on the team? as far as forwards i mean, he's always had yzerman, shanny, hull, robitaille,fedorov,draper, maybe now since most of them are gone and he's one of the offensive leaders and point producers he will realize that he has to step up? what do you think?

I think that's part of it. Last year was the 1st year where he was "The Man", and that's an adjustment. Yzerman himself had some notorious playoff struggles before he became the consummate playoff performer.

[silkyjohnson13 0]

I never understood why everyone thought Datsyuk would fall apart without Zetterberg... Datsyuk's offensive talents are probably about the same as Zetterbergs ATM. He's a playmaker - he needs a goal scorer to put points up.

I'm going to completely disagree with you here. Datsyuk's pure talent and offensive skill is on a completely different level than Zetterberg's. Datsyuk's pure talent and offensive skill is among the best in the league, and to be totally honest, among the best that i've ever seen. The problem is: he is not big, he is not strong, and he is not a fast skater(don't confuse fast with quick, because he's without question one of the quickest but that only takes you so far)... If you aren't big and/or strong, you better be a fast skater - Datsyuk's not. What he does have is some of the most ridiculous God-given talent that i've ever seen though - among the best hands i've ever seen, among the best stickhandlers i've ever seen, among the most creative players i have seen, among the quickest(laterall movement/first step/stick), and he is blessed with vision that only a a handful of players in this league possess. But the fact still remains that he is small, slow, and weak - so he can only do so much. He will never be as good an overall player as Zetterberg - Zetterberg's skating ability is on another level than Pavel's. If Pavel was blessed with good/great speed and some better size, i can't even imagine how good he could be. The sky would literally be the limit. But it's not. So i totally appreciate him for simply being as successful as he is given his limitations. He's still one of the top playmakers in this league.

[hated and proud 0]

Off topic post: clutchngrab...you have THE best avatar I have ever had the pleasure to see!!!!!

[Sentonial Debut 0]

Dats is an amazing talent and even though he looks amazing now the question is inevitably going to be what is he going to do for us in the playoffs. Zetterberg showed us last year that he can play in the postseason but Datsyuk has yet to show that and if he has another mediocre playoff then i can't see Holland looking to give him 5 mil per season. Personally i think resigning Datsyuk is important if just for the way he works with Zetterberg.

[Token 0]

Datsyuk is still producing without zetterberg. I hope he stays on this hot streak when Zetterberg returns...

[norrisnick 1]

I think that's part of it. Last year was the 1st year where he was "The Man", and that's an adjustment. Yzerman himself had some notorious playoff struggles before he became the consummate playoff performer.

Stevie what now? He had a hard time getting the rest of the team to show up, but he himself was always there.

6 points in 4 games

3 in 3

18 in 16

4 in 3

10 in 6

6 in 7

8 in 11

7 in 7

4 in 3

12 in 15

20 in 18

98 points in 93 games.

Then came the 1st Cup

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Stevie what now? He had a hard time getting the rest of the team to show up, but he himself was always there.

6 points in 4 games

3 in 3

18 in 16

4 in 3

10 in 6

6 in 7

8 in 11

7 in 7

4 in 3

12 in 15

20 in 18

98 points in 93 games.

Then came the 1st Cup

Glad you made the record clear.

I've heard that sort of revisionist history a few times now about Yzerman when someone is defending Dats, and it's far from true.