Henrik Leads Wings to a Game 5 Win over Flames

By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 21, 2007

Henrik Zetterberg had two goals, including the game-winner, and and assist in the Detroit Red Wings huge 5-1 win against the Calgary Flames today at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, giving the Wings a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Zetterberg had been held without a point for the first four games of the series, and had begun to receive criticism from the media, despite having missed the last 19 games of the regular season with an inflamed disc in his lower back. Many were speculating that his timing was off after missing so many games, but he proved he has got it back today.

"The legs have been there all along. I don't think the timing was,” said Zetterberg.

It looked like it was when he scored his first goal on the power-play at 8:50 of the second period. Red Wings Captain Niklas Lidstrom passed the puck from the blue line on the left point to Zetterberg who was alone at the top of the right face-off circle. Henrik fired a one timer low on net, that went untouched as it went between the legs of both line-mate Tomas Holmstrom and Flames goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead. It ended up being Zetterberg’s first career playoff game-winner.

Henrik's second goal of the game came 5:12 into the third period, also on the power-play. Pavel Datsyuk slipped a quick pass to Zetterberg cruising into the slot. He took the pass on his backhand and then wristed a snapshot past the glove of the Calgary goaltender. The goal made it a four-goal deficit and put the game out of reach for the Flames.

Hank’s assist came late in the third period, after Calgary made it a 4-1 game, on a power-play goal by Datsyuk. After carrying the puck into the offensive zone, Zetterberg sent a drop pass back to Lidstrom on the blue line, who fired a slap-shot off the end boards directly to Datsyuk waiting at the crease. He stuffed the puck into the net behind the sprawled Kiprusoff.

Today’s game was the first three-point playoff game in Zetterberg’s career. He now has 11 goals and 3 assists for 14 points in 27 playoff games.

Wings' Top Line Held Pointless Again

By Ansar Khan, Mlive.com, April 20, 2007

Wings coach Mike Babcock juggled two of his lines to come up with a potent combination, as Todd Bertuzzi and Johan Franzen each scored a goal with their new center, Robert Lang, in Game 4 vs. Calgary. But, the top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, so dominant the first two games of this opening-round playoff series, has been held without a point in the last two games, a pair of 3-2 losses for the Wings.

Babcock, at various times in the third period Thursday, put Valtteri Filppula on the top line, replacing either Zetterberg or Holmstrom. But, that didn't help either.

"We didn't think they were in sync at all," Babcock said. "We played them with different people and moved people around and tried to make something happen. I don't know if they're just not driving through the middle of the ice the same way or (not) executing.

"It's not like we were hemmed in our zone. It's not like we weren't coming out with speed, but for whatever reason, whether it's Calgary deflected us out of the middle, they were not able to get to the net."

He doesn't believe it's a case of Calgary getting a better defensive matchup against that line with the last change at home.

It's particularly frustrating for Zetterberg, who doesn't have a point in the series, after returning from a 19-game absence due to an inflamed disc. He was good the first two games, generating chances and playing more physical than usual, but he's struggled since the series shifted to Calgary.

"We haven't created the same kind of chances we did in the first two games," Zetterberg said. "We have to find a way to get to the net and create some chances."

"I think they're playing them real tight, they're back-checking real hard on them, so they don't have the room to cut back and look for a third or fourth player who's there," Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It's a matter of taking it more to the net."

"The way it works on our team, (Henrik) Zetterberg and (Pavel) Datsyuk, when they don't play well, they're still going to find a way to get themselves going, and the coach gives them that opportunity," Babcock said.

"You always want to produce and create some chances and I don't think we had two good games here (in Calgary). Actually, we had two real bad games,'' Zetterberg said. "I think we can still put more pucks on the net and get pucks through to (goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff).''

Wings' Eurotwins are a Perfect Match

BY Helene St. James, Free Press, April 18, 2007

Pavel Datsyuk doesn't use hair-care products, a teammate pointed out, while Henrik Zetterberg has rock star hair.

The two young Red Wings have markedly different personalities, and there are those around them who wonder at times how they communicate so well. Their chemistry, though, is indisputable: They became fast friends four years ago, have played well with one another, and now they're as dominant a pairing as can be found in the NHL.

Their line with Tomas Holmstrom has been a major source of trouble for the Calgary Flames. Entering Tuesday's Game 3, Datsyuk already had two goals in the first-round series, and Zetterberg had played incredibly physical for a guy who missed the last 19 games of the regular season because of an inflamed disk.

"From our point of view, we haven't made it hard enough on them," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said Tuesday morning. "We've got to control the puck more. If we don't have it, that means they do, so the more we can keep it out of their hands by controlling it in their zone and putting pressure on them, it goes back to that thing that the best defense is a good offense. If they have it in our zone and they're flying around the neutral zone, they're going to get chances. They're that good of players."

Through two games Zetterberg had 11 shots on goal and Datsyuk had three points. Holmstrom's one assist belies how important he is to the success of the other two.

"He's the guy who gives me and Pav an extra few seconds," Zetterberg said. "He is always battling in front of the net and makes it tough for the goalie, so that helps us -- when we shoot, the goalie doesn't see the puck. It's a good play to put it on net because you know he will always be there."

It is Datsyuk and Zetterberg, though, who are the stars, who dazzle pretty much every shift with the way they stickhandle and move through traffic and beat two or three defenders at a time. The way they're bulldozing everyone reminds newcomer Todd Bertuzzi of the magic he and Markus Naslund had together five years ago with the Canucks.

"I think Dats and Zetterberg are doing exactly what we were doing out there, and it's fun when things are rolling," Bertuzzi said. "You've got confidence in any situation out there. There's nothing better. It makes hockey fun, and that's the most important thing because when hockey is fun, you end up playing better."

Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been having fun together since Zetterberg joined the Wings for the 2002-2003 season, one year after Datsyuk. Almost immediately, the Swedish Zetterberg and Russian Datsyuk became known among teammates as the Eurotwins. To this day, teammates catch them with their heads together, scheming like two schoolchildren, even though Zetterberg's English is far superior to Datsyuk's.

"Sometimes you wonder what they might be talking about over there," Kirk Maltby said. "But whatever it is, they can keep doing it."

It is obvious to everyone the two have something special. They often use practices to try all sorts of tricks, relying on a common hockey sense.

"They're kind of on the same wave length as far as what they try to do, want to do out there on the ice," Maltby said. "They're two different types of personalities, but in the hockey world, they're the Eurotwins. They seem to know what the other is going to do. We're very fortunate that they do have the chemistry they have."

The Wings organization is so committed to keeping them together that Datsyuk was signed to a seven-year extension this month, and Zetterberg will be offered an extension at the earliest possible moment, in the summer of 2008. The power of the Eurotwins is indisputable, and their differences just make it all the more remarkable, as Maltby explained when asked to elaborate on what sets the two apart.

"They're both kind of quiet, but Hank, he dresses a little flashier," Maltby said. "He wears his jeans and his Armani shirts. Hank's got the long, shaggy, big hairdo, and Pav, I don't think Pav even uses mousse or gel. They're two different people, but they click on the ice."

Is 'Z' the next Stevie Y? Wings bullish on Zetterberg

By George Johnson, Calgary Herald, April 15, 2007

Chris Osgood, the pride of Peace River, figures there's only one thing Henrik Zetterberg lacks.

"A long playoff run. Hank's already a Top 5 in the league, in my opinion,'' maintained Detroit's backup goalie.

"One of the best all-around players you'll find. He scores beautiful goals. He's going to be a Selke Trophy candidate for years to come. You saw the other night. He backchecks Iginla. He forechecks Phaneuf. He can be a pain in the butt, or he can be a Lecavalier or a Jagr.

"But because we haven't had a lot of playoff success since he got here -- losing out in the second round against Calgary three years ago, then the lockout year, and the one round against Edmonton last season -- a lot of fans, especially in Canada, haven't really seen that much of him. So he kind of flies under the radar.''

After five weeks out of the lineup due to back issues, Zetterberg, his timing impeccable, returned for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarter-final on Thursday night at JLA. And he looked as if he'd never been away. No points, true, but a healthy 20 minutes of ice time, a plus-2 and four cracks at breaking down Miikka Kiprusoff's door. Even more impressive: five hits, as if to show he's completely healed and ready to roll.

"My back was no problem at all,'' he reported. "And what's better, no problems (Friday). That's usually when you feel it, the next day. I was pretty sure it would hold up.

"I felt good. I had a lot of energy stored inside me.''

Don't for a nanosecond doubt that the friskiness so obvious in the performance of Pavel Datsyuk wasn't directly linked to Zetterberg's return.

"He and Pavel have such an understanding on the ice, it's almost scary,'' said the truculent Kris Draper.

Zetterberg is tough. Not the stereotypically traditional grunt-and-scratch NHL definition of the word. Competitive tough. He isn't shy about working the wall. And he's at his most effective in confined spaces, absorbing the crosscheck, fending off the slash, shrugging off the physical abuse, to make a play or power to the net. Call it the Henrik Manouevre.

In the opener, the Wings overwhelmed Calgary, and much of that was directly attributable to the unflagging tenacity of their forwards.

"We want to just play the same way (today),'' said Zetterberg. "We have to continue to be hard on their D and play as much as possible in their zone. We have to come out flying again, because they're going to be much better.''

While those five weeks out of commission didn't do anything for his stats (he nevertheless finished with a more-than-respectable 33 goals and 68 points in only 63 starts), they could turn out to be a positive boon for the Stanley Cup-chasing Wings. "To see those guys, Pavel and Z, out there together the other night was great for our team,'' said Draper. "Z's fresh. He's excited. We missed him when he was hurt, obviously, but in the long run it could pay big dividends for us.

"He's so strong on the puck, so strong on his stick, so strong on his skates. He can make plays or score goals that are amazing. But if he has to dump the puck in, he'll go and get it, too. Kills penalties. Plays power play. Out there against the other team's top line. He pretty much has everything.''

Everything except one thing.

"Hank may not be a household name yet,'' cautioned Osgood, "but if we do make a long run in the playoffs this spring, everyone will know who he is.''