“I don't expect him to start the series,'' Babcock said following the 4-3 win over the Blackhawks. "But he's really pushing things, he's working hard and he'll be ready to go as soon as he can.
I'm hoping that means this is Datsyuk's year to find his inner playoff beast. A playoff-beast version of Datsyuk would be scary/orgasmic to see.
If he plays like he did today, with the added playoff grit that he always seems to find (see, numerous hits on players like Kane, Malkin, whoever, and getting into scrums) he will be that beast.
If he plays like he did today, with the added playoff grit that he always seems to find (see, numerous hits on players like Kane, Malkin, whoever, and getting into scrums) he will be that beast.
He was a monster today and we can hope he will keep it for the playoffs and the team followed him.
Datsyuk has to go beast mode. He has had way toooo much time off because of his injuries. If Dats can turn it on in the first round and then get a healthy and rested Z in the second round..I would feel really good about the Wings chances. Of course I am assuming the defense doesn't implode.
Honestly I don't think Dats has had a dominant playoff season yet. He has had 3 very solid ones, but at no time did I really believe him to be the teams best forward in the playoffs over the past 5 years. Now with that said I fully expect him to take that mantle this year.
For the first time Dats is entering the playoffs at a good level of health and in the past 5 years he has become much more of a shooter. That is huge in regards to him finally being able to obtain beast mode. An unhealthy Dats is not nearly as effective as a healthy one. Possibly more so than any other superstar in the league. His game is based so much on precision and acceleration/ skate control, that if he is injured his game drops off dramatically. You take away his quickness and he can't juke guys out of their jocks, and he gets hit a lot more. In contrast a healthy Dats might just be the most dynamic and best player in the league.
He has also become much more of a gamechanger on his own, over the past 5 seasons. It used to be that if you eliminated Dats' linemates you eliminated most of his game. He was a pass first player and required very skilled/ knowledgeable linemates to really succeed. That is no longer the case. While Dats still does prefer to pass he is more along the lines of 60/40 in terms of pass shoot than the 85/15 he used to be. This keeps teams honest in regards to hounding his linemates. In general he has somewhat simplified his offensive game and it allows him to play better with grinder mentalities. It took he and Homer years to really find chemistry sans Zetterberg, and in that time he has learned how to play with non stars. It also doesn't hurt that he has one of the best wristers in the game, and is finally using it with some consistency.
Honestly I don't think Dats has had a dominant playoff season yet. He has had 3 very solid ones, but at no time did I really believe him to be the teams best forward in the playoffs over the past 5 years. Now with that said I fully expect him to take that mantle this year.
For the first time Dats is entering the playoffs at a good level of health and in the past 5 years he has become much more of a shooter. That is huge in regards to him finally being able to obtain beast mode. An unhealthy Dats is not nearly as effective as a healthy one. Possibly more so than any other superstar in the league. His game is based so much on precision and acceleration/ skate control, that if he is injured his game drops off dramatically. You take away his quickness and he can't juke guys out of their jocks, and he gets hit a lot more. In contrast a healthy Dats might just be the most dynamic and best player in the league.
He has also become much more of a gamechanger on his own, over the past 5 seasons. It used to be that if you eliminated Dats' linemates you eliminated most of his game. He was a pass first player and required very skilled/ knowledgeable linemates to really succeed. That is no longer the case. While Dats still does prefer to pass he is more along the lines of 60/40 in terms of pass shoot than the 85/15 he used to be. This keeps teams honest in regards to hounding his linemates. In general he has somewhat simplified his offensive game and it allows him to play better with grinder mentalities. It took he and Homer years to really find chemistry sans Zetterberg, and in that time he has learned how to play with non stars. It also doesn't hurt that he has one of the best wristers in the game, and is finally using it with some consistency.
No one has seen this Pavel Datsyuk yet....
Good post.
I agree with you about a healthy and unhealthy Datsyuk. I think it is a huge difference, as you mentioned.
I think it is the time for Datsyuk to step up and carry the team. He is a top 5 or top 3 forward in the league, now he has to show up.
I think he has had 3 solid playoff performance, but I think it is realistic from us to expect him to come with one exceptional one.
For his type of player, over 20mins of icetime, 5on5, 4on4, pk, pp, PPG with more goals than assists or alteast a 50/50 ratio, atleast a +1 in every game etc
imo, datsyuk was certainly DRW's best F in '07. 2nd best in '08 and '10.
zetterberg was best F in '06, '08, '09, '10.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mindfly
For his type of player, over 20mins of icetime, 5on5, 4on4, pk, pp, PPG with more goals than assists or alteast a 50/50 ratio, atleast a +1 in every game etc
i probably should not try to argue with you, but how many players in history have had good playoffs under those criteria?
i would guess it would be 0 among all players in NHL history, or possibly 1-3.
number of players who have been at least +1 in every game is extremely low. i would guess no active player has done it, and possibly no one since +/- has been officially recorded.
imo, datsyuk was certainly DRW's best F in '07. 2nd best in '08 and '10.
zetterberg was best F in '06, '08, '09, '10.
i probably should not try to argue with you, but how many players in history have had good playoffs under those criteria?
i would guess it would be 0 among all players in NHL history, or possibly 1-3.
number of players who have been at least +1 in every game is extremely low. i would guess no active player has done it, and possibly no one since +/- has been officially recorded.
Average +1, +2 one game and he could be +/- 0 the other, that's what i meant.
For his type of player, over 20mins of icetime, 5on5, 4on4, pk, pp, PPG with more goals than assists or alteast a 50/50 ratio, atleast a +1 in every game etc
...Yeah, you must officially live in a vacuum and play NHL 2011 all day or something.
I think Datsyuk gets underrated for his 07/08 playoffs.
I'm going to say he was as good as Zetterberg. No he didn't put up the 6 points Z did, but he was all over the place and really, really picked it up physically in the Finals.
He was a beast all over the ice, in every zone.
Zetterberg was epic, and owned Crosby, and was deserving of the Conn Smythe, but I think Datsyuk was quietly just as good.
For this first series, I'm glad it's Datsyuk and not Zetterberg in the line up(if I had to chose one).
It's pretty obvious that Datsyuk is the best player on this team now, and he makes the Wings tick.
For his type of player, over 20mins of icetime, 5on5, 4on4, pk, pp, PPG with more goals than assists or alteast a 50/50 ratio, atleast a +1 in every game etc
Do you apply similar criteria to other players or is Datsyuk the only one facing these almost unattainable criteria? The demand for goals/assists ratio and +/- are what irk me. For example, Zetterberg was one goal short of a 50/50 ratio and a measly* +16 in his Conn Smythe year.
