April 2010
Zetterbergfan.com Announces New Partnership with IHeartHank.com
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 28th, 2010
Zetterbergfan is happy to announce its’ recent partnership with its’ new “sister” website, Ihearthank.com.
IHeartHank.com was created in 2010 by self-proclaimed “huge fan” Melanie, who grew up a Red Wings fan because of her dad. The website has a real personal touch and provides a fresh new media for Zetterberg fans to get the most recent videos and photo galleries available. You will find all the latest info about Hank and all things going on in his life, from his personal day to day life to his professional career.
With the new partnership between Zetterbergfan.com and IHeartHank.com, fans have the ultimate source for the most up-to-date news, information, stats, pictures, and videos in the world.
Zetterberg Gets Three Assists as Red Wings Dominate Coyotes in Game Seven
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 27th, 2010
Everyone talked about how Detroit’s stars needed to produce for the Red Wings to win game seven on the road in Phoenix against a resilient Coyotes team. Tonight they were, and Henrik Zetterberg led the way with a career high three assists in a playoff game, as the Wings prevailed over the home team 6-1 and advanced to round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the San Jose Sharks.
Zetterberg’s first assists was a nice lead pass, to spring Pavel Datsyuk on a breakaway, for what ended up being the game-winning goal, 3:42 into the 2nd period. The helper was Z’s milestone 40th career playoff assist.
Henrik collected his second assist ten minutes later on Captain Nicklas Lidstrom’s power-play tally, making it a 3-1 game.
Finally, Zetterberg recorded his third assist of the match on a 3rd period goal by linemate Todd Bertuzzi, to help seal the crucial game-seven victory.
Hank was a +3 (plus/minus) in the game.
Including the three assists tonight, Zetterberg had a phenomenal first round against Phoenix, recording 6 goals (2nd in playoffs), 5 assists, 11 points (2nd in playoffs), and +6 (9th in playoffs) in 7 games (tied 1st in playoffs).
After this seven game series, Henrik now has 45 goals, 42 assists, 87 points, and +30 in 92 career playoff games. He is only one point behind legendary Hall-of-Famer Ted Lindsay for 6th place on the Red Wings All-time Playoff Scoring Leaders list.
Henrik Zetterberg Owes Me $7.50
Ultimate-fighter.ca/forum, April 25th, 2010
Red Wings' Veterans are Going to Have to Produce
By Pat Caputo, The Daily Tribune, April 23, 2010
No longer can the Red Wings survive if their best players are not, well, their best players.
While the Red Wings got back into their opening round series against the Phoenix Coyotes with an impressive 3-0 victory Tuesday, it's not like they have taken over the series. It's tied two games apiece. There is another fork in the road tonight in Game 5 at Phoenix.
Not only will the onus be on rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard, who was magnificent Tuesday, but also on the Red Wings' Big Five — Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Johan Franzen and Brian Rafalski. It's top-end players.
The Red Wings' Big Five are world-class players. All have extraordinary skill.
Zetterberg is a two-way player with a remarkable playoff record. He is the anti-Joe Thornton in this regard: Unlike the San Jose "star," he tends to score less than a point per game during the regular season, and more than a point per game in the playoffs.
Zetterberg has 68 points in 59 games the last two-plus playoff seasons. Considering how much tighter space on the ice gets this time of the year, it's speaks volumes for Zetterberg and Franzen.
In the Red Wings' two wins in this series, Zetterberg and Datysuk played their best games. Lidstorm had a rare poor game Sunday in a Game 3 loss. It wasn't a coincidence that when he bounced back strongly Tuesday the Red Wings won.
The Red Wings' top players — their Big Five of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski — must come through for them in the postseason.
April and the 'Z': Wings' Henrik Zetterberg Always Blooms in Spring
By Gregg Krupa, Detroit News, April 22nd, 2010
The score was 0-0 late in the second period against Phoenix in Game 4 on Tuesday night. Somebody had to do something. The Red Wings had played poorly in Game 3. No one wanted to go back to the desert down 3-games-to-1 against the fast, well-prepared, us-against-the-world Coyotes. In a previous era, they would have looked to Steve Yzerman. Or perhaps one of several other future Hall of Famers playing for the Red Wings in the pre-salary-cap era would have stepped up. But that was then. Henrik Zetterberg is now.
"The way he can play, it seems like he is turning it up to a different level, once you hit the playoffs," Nick Lidstrom said. "He has been our go-to guy here for a few years."
And there he was, away in a corner, trying to fall off the Coyotes' radar. Brian Rafalski moved the puck from the right point to Niklas Kronwall at the middle of the blue line.
Anticipating the shot from his unnoticed perch, Zetterberg swooped in.
With an intuitive sense of the moment, he was exactly where he needed to be when Kronwall fired. Directly in front of the net, Zetterberg lowered his stick and tipped the puck into a high corner.
The all-important first goal had been scored in a playoff game that the Wings needed to win.
Essential production in the playoffs is the definition of Zetterberg, after seven seasons. As unflashy and unassuming as he can be, issuing key goals and words of wisdom from some deep soul within that thick beard, Zetterberg is the straw, the big wheel, the top hammer for the Red Wings, especially when it is most needed.
"He's been real good at playoff time each and every year," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "He seems to score at a higher rate."
Zetterberg was "obviously inspired" in Game 4, Babcock said. "And I thought the same in game two of the series," he said. "We've got to make sure he's ready to go in Game 5 of the series."
Record of Excellence
Whether you call him "Z," "Hank" or "Mr. Zetterberg," from late April to mid-June he is indispensable.
"Well, this is the best time of the year," he said. "This is what you are playing those 82 games for, the postseason. And I've been fortunate enough to play with the real good players every time when the postseason is coming. And I've learned a lot throughout the years.
"And I really enjoy it."
Zetterberg, at mid-career, has scored 44 playoff goals in 89 games, about half a goal per game compared to about 0.4-per-game in the regular season (206 goals in 506 career games).
In 2008, he scored 13 goals and tallied 27 points in 22 games, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.
In 2009, he garnered 23 points in 24 games, and the Red Wings took Pittsburgh to Game 7 in the Finals before succumbing.
Through four playoff games this year he is well ahead of either pace. Zetterberg has five goals and two assists, and he was in second place in the NHL in playoff scoring.
He leads the Red Wings with 21 shots on goal. He also leads them in self-effacement.
"Of course, the experience helps," he said, as a matter-of-fact. "And many players in here have been in that situation, and we know what we have to do. We just got to go out and execute and play good hockey, and do not panic.
"You know, if you play well, you have a good chance of winning. If you are not playing well, you will probably lose. So it's up to yourself to play good hockey."
The opposition knows there is a good chance that a lot of the big goals for the Red Wings in the playoffs will come off of Zetterberg's stick. But knowledge is not execution, and it is tough to stop him.
"He's a top player for them," said Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, whose strategy, especially mucking-up the neutral zone, has made this series difficult for the Red Wings. "You know, he's proven it in the past. He can do some special things."
Team Player
And he did a few more Tuesday, besides the winning goal.
Over the remaining 25 minutes Zetterberg was the only forward killing a crucial, 5-on-3 power play. He did not win the important faceoff at the beginning. But his territorial play in the shooting lanes made it nearly useless for the Coyotes to have the puck.
Then, he ended any hope Phoenix had of pushing the Red Wings to the brink of elimination. On one of his patented, I'll-just-fire-it-from-this-obscenely-acute-angle-and-surprise-them goals, he shot from a corner and beat Ilya Bryzgalov, again, making it 3-zip.
It was all over but the shouting. And Zetterberg and his mates had them screaming their lungs out at The Joe.
"Tremendous," said Gordie Howe, another former Red Wing, who was once looked to for scoring the big ones. "He's just a smart, smart, fast, quick hockey player who loves the game."
Lidstrom is the captain and leader of the Red Wings. But Zetterberg is the vital forward, counted on not only for timely goals, but also for helping provide the kind of leadership in the locker room that Yzerman once supplied in abundance.
Leaders identify reality and help hold the fort, as Zetterberg does on the ice and in the room.
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 22nd, 2010
According to Swedish publications, Henrik Zetterberg will marry Swedish Actress/Model/Singer Emma Andersson this summer in Sweden. The couple has been engaged for several years.
He dominates again with 2 goals in must-win game
By Helene St. James, Free Press, April 21st, 2010
The Red Wings have seen it in Henrik Zetterberg before, the way he can dominate at playoff time, using his strong body to angle off opponents and his offensive instincts to angle pucks just right.
He came through with two goals Tuesday to give the Wings a 3-0 victory at Joe Louis Arena in Game 4, tying the first-round series against the Coyotes. The Wings needed the victory to avoid facing elimination, and Zetterberg played a key role in its deliverance.
"He's been playing real well," Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He's strong on the puck, he plays hard at both ends of the ice, and he's out there late in games, he's killing penalties, and he's setting power plays up. So he's a big key to our team."
Zetterberg was part of the squad that killed an 18-second 5-on-3 Phoenix power play in the third period, at a time the Wings still only had a one-goal lead. Soon after, he scored goal No. 2.
"Obviously he was inspired tonight," coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought the same thing for Game 2. We've got to make sure he's ready for Game 5.
Zetterberg scored a hat trick in Game 2 and also has two assists four games into the series.
"He's a good player, he's a top player for them," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "He's proven in the past he can do special things.
"His goals tonight, one of them was on a deflection on a lob to the net, the other one from the corner. He's certainly a special player, without a doubt."
Zetterberg's five goals top the NHL's playoff scores, and his seven points trail only Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby's 11 points.
Tuesday, Zetterberg made two key plays on his first goal, scored on the power play at 15:33 of the second period. First he kept the puck in at the blue line, then he strode up the middle and eyed Niklas Kronwall's shot from the blue line just right, swatting at it in the air and redirecting it just below the crossbar.
Video review showed his stick wasn't high, though it took until after the game before the league gave Zetterberg credit instead of Todd Bertuzzi, who'd originally been given the goal.
"I never touched it," Bertuzzi said. "Zett's got it."
Zetterberg said it didn't matter who scored, but there was no uncertainty on the second one. Picking up the puck from Bertuzzi along the right boards, Zetterberg skated all the way into the corner before angling a shot on net that snuck in behind Ilya Bryzgalov at 16:18 and extinguished any hope of a Coyotes comeback.
"Z, he's got a lot of pride and he doesn't like getting outplayed out there," Jimmy Howard said.
Zetterberg, the 2008 Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoff run that ended with the Wings winning the Stanley Cup, already has nearly half the 11 goals he scored last year in 23 games, and almost a third of the points.
"He's been real good at playoff time each and every year," Babcock said. "He seems to score at a higher rate and obviously it's real important that your best players play."
Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg receives praise for playoff performance, shrugs off Game 3
By George Malik, Mlive.com, April 21st, 2010
Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg has registered 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points over the first four games of the Red Wings-Coyotes series, and the CBC's series blogger reports that Zetterberg's teammates and his opponents know that "Hank" cranks his game up come playoff time:
April 21, CBC Sports: The space tightens up during the Stanley Cup playoffs, there's a battle zone for every inch of ice and the goals generally come few and far between. So what gives with Henrik Zetterberg then? The Detroit Red Wings centre, who scored twice in Tuesday's 3-0 Game 4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes that knotted this best-of-seven Western Conference opening-round series at 2-2, is actually a more productive player during the playoffs than in the regular season.
Zetterberg has tallied 44 goals in 89 playoff games, an average of 0.49 goals per game, superior to his .407 goals per game regular-season pace (206 goals in 506 games).
"He's been always real good in the playoffs," linemate Valtteri Filppula said of Zetterberg, who leads all playoff goal scorers with five. "It looks like it's going to be this playoffs as well."
Even the vanquished Coyotes were willing to acknowledge Zetterberg's impact on the series so far. "He's a good player, he's a top player, he's proven in the past he can do special things," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said.
The Sporting News's Craig Custance suggests that Zetterberg deserves praise as a potential Conn Smythe Trophy candidate already...
April 21, The Sporting News: Henrik Zetterberg, F, Red Wings
His five goals have all come in two games -- not coincidentally, Detroit's two victories. Two of those five goals were game-winners.
Zetterberg liked how things clicked for his team in Game 4. "All four lines played better," he said. "We have to have that going if we want to go somewhere in the playoffs."
Zetterberg had this to say about his team's task at hand, however, in speaking to DetroitRedWings.com's Michael Caples:
April 21, DetroitRedWings.com: Zetterberg said the key to having success in Phoenix will be to keep things simple.
“We have to go down and play solid hockey,” said Zetterberg, the league’s playoff scoring lead with five goals. “Good road hockey and not do so many mistakes, just make sure that we play solid and have patience. If the special teams keep being good, we will have a chance.”
By CJ Boyle, Phoenix Fanster, April 21st, 2010
This man is Henrik Zetterberg, he is Public Enemy Number 1 for the Coyotes. Roc and Manuch are asking fans to make things as difficult as possible for him on Friday night. When he touches the puck or gets on the ice, you boo, scream, yell, go nuts. Do what you can to help your Coyotes stop Zetterberg!!! Zetterberg has been a dog killer. He scored a hat trick and two goals in both Detroit wins.
Move Over NHL MVP, It's Time for the MVH: Most Valuable Henrik
By Frank Castaldi, Bleacher Report, April 19th, 2010
Sorry Henrik Tallinder, you won't be part of this discussion. Nope, this award will be going to one of the three uber-valuable Henriks in the NHL.
Each one of these men are crucial to their respective club's performance on a nightly basis. Much like a traditional MVP, but these three men all have one thing in common, well, two things in common: they each are studly Swedes and each share the exceptional name of Henrik.
If you haven't put the pieces together by now, I'm talking about Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg, and last but certainly not least, Henrik Lundqvist.
Take away one of these guys from their team, and the dynamic of their performance is drastically altered.
Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings:
This bearded beast from Motown had a slow start to his season but finished with a bang.
At first look at Zetterberg's '09-'10 stats, and you would think that's a pretty decent season—for someone other than Henrik Zetterberg.
I mean, tied for team-lead in points with 70 is a pretty good season, but it's nowhere near his expected totals.
After his slow start, Zetterberg missed eight games with a separated shoulder. When he came back, he tore it up the way most of us have come to expect.
Through his last 30 games, Zetterberg notched 30 points. That's more like it.
He, along with the goaltending of rookie netminder Jimmy Howard, were hugely responsible for Detroit's second-half surge up the Western Conference ranks.
Zetterberg has kept up that torrid pace thus far into the first-round series with the Coyotes.
In three games, Zetterberg leads the Red Wings in scoring with five points. Three of those points came from Henrik's hat trick en route to a 7-4 victory in Game Two, which evened up the series at one.
Detroit has several outlets for goal scoring and offense such as Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, and Johan Franzen, but Zetterberg is their bread and butter.
Over the last five seasons, Henrik leads the Wings in goal scoring with 167 goals. Datsyuk is the next closest, trailing him by 22 goals.
Zetterberg's performance in the playoffs will have a huge impact on how deep the Wings go in the postseason.
Hank Scores Two, is Playoff Leader in Goals, and Passes Holmstrom on Red Wings all-time Playoff Scoring Leaders List.
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 20th, 2010
Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals, eventually getting credit for the 2nd period game-winning power-play goal, as the Detroit Red Wings and rookie netminder Jimmy Howard shut out the Phoenix Coyotes and tied the first round series 2-2.
The game was closely contested and remained a scoreless tie in the 2nd period when, on the power-play, Zetterberg set-up the play and then finished it by tipping-in a shot by defenseman Niklas Kronwall. Zetterberg was between the face-off circles, reached out with his stick, and deflected the shot up and into the corner of the net, over the glove-side shoulder of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. The play went to video review to determine if Zetterberg tipped it with a high-stick. The goal stood, but was initially credited to Todd Bertuzzi, who was screening in front of the net.
Z’s 2nd goal of the game, and league leading 5th of the playoffs, came 16:18 into the 3rd period when he just put a shot on net from behind the goal-line that hit the skate of Bryzgalov and ended up in the net, sealing the victory for Detroit by a score of 3-0.
Hank now has five goals and two assists in the past three games, for seven points in four games. He is also 2nd in the league in plus/minus with a +4.
With the two points tonight, Zetterberg passes teammate and fellow Swede Tomas Holmstrom for 7th place on the Red Wings all-time Playoff Scoring Leader list with 83 points (44 goals and 39 assists) in 89 career post-season games.
Z also passed Hall-of-Famer and Red Wings legend Ted Lidsay for 5th place on the Wings All-time Playoff Goals Leaders List.
Zetterberg Passes Slava Kozlov on Red Wings all-time Playoff Scoring Leaders List
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 17th, 2010
With his 1st career playoff hat trick last night in game two of the opening series in Phoenix against the Coyotes, Henrik Zetterberg passed Slava Kozlov, a player known for being clutch in the playoffs, for 8th place on the Red Wings all-time Playoff Scoring Leader list with 79 points (42 goals and 37 assists) in 87 career post-season games.
Zetterberg also passed Kozlov for 6th place amongst the franchise’s career playoff goal scorers.
Henrik Zetterberg's hat trick lifts Red Wings over Coyotes, 7-4, in Game 2
By Ansar Khan, Mlive.com, April 17, 2010
Henrik Zetterberg scored his second goal of the game to snap a tie with 6:06 remaining in the third period and finished with his first career postseason hat trick, lifting the Red Wings past the Phoenix Coyotes 7-4 Friday night in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series at Jobing.com Arena.
Zetterberg’s line led the way.
Zetterberg tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play goal at 6:27. He drove the middle of the ice with speed and converted a pass from Filppula.
Zetterberg scored the winning goal by rushing to the net and knocking in the rebound of a shot by Bertuzzi.
“They are good in front of their goalie, taking a lot of ice away, it’s tough to get pucks on the net,’’ Zetterberg said. “Just got to find ways to do it from different angles, and go there for the second chances. It was nice to see the puck bounce off him a few times and go in.’’
Zetterberg completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 48 seconds remaining.
“It was a real team effort. Everyone chipped in,’’ Zetterberg said. “We rolled four lines. That’s how you create at lot of energy at the end of the game.’’
“(Zetterberg) probably got tired of the guy across from him (Shane Doan) competing,” Babcock said. “He’s a proud guy and thinks he’s a good player. If the guy across from you plays harder than you, he’s going to have some success. If Z plays like he can play, he’s going to have success. In the second and third periods I thought he took over.”
Behind Henrik Zetterberg's Hat Trick, Red Wings Even Series
By Chris McCosky, Detroit News, April 17th, 2010
The line of Henrik Zetterberg (first playoff hat trick), Valtteri Filppula (two goals and an assist) and Todd Bertuzzi (two assists), accounted for five goals and led the Red Wings to a 7-4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes Friday and evened this Western Conference quarterfinal series at 1-1.
The Wings outhit the Coyotes, 38-31. The Zetterberg line had nine hits (Z had 5).
Down 1-0, the Wings tied it on a pretty power-play goal by Zetterberg, who streaked down the middle of the ice and deposited a perfect pass from Filppula. That was at 6:27.
Bertuzzi (set up the winning goal with 6:06 left in the game) made a slick hesitation move above the circle and fired a shot through the defensemen's legs. The shot hit goalie Ilya Bryzgalov but he couldn't secure the rebound. Zetterberg pounced on it.
Zetterberg's third goal came on an empty-netter with 48 seconds left.
"Bert is doing a lot of good things and he doesn't get enough credit," Zetterberg said. "He does a lot of work for me and Fil and it was nice to see him get some points on the board because he deserves it."
"We knew our line had to step up and put the puck in the net," Bertuzzi said. "We had tons of opportunities to score, so it was just a matter of time. Henrik was terrific and Fil was shooting more and on the puck a lot. It was a much better effort."
Zetterberg's Hat Trick Helps Red Wings Even Series
By Dana Wakiji, FOX Sports Detroit, April 17th, 2010
Coach Mike Babcock loves to say that the best players have to be the best players in order for the Red Wings to be successful.
The Wings return home to Detroit with a 1-1 tie in their first-round series with the Phoenix Coyotes because their best players were just that.
Henrik Zetterberg had three goals, including an empty-netter, to put the icing on the cake (or the Arby's curly fries in fans' stomachs) in the Wings' 7-4 victory.
Red Wings Notes and Quotes, Red Wings 7, Coyotes 4
By Helene St. James, Free Press, April 17th, 2010
They used a power play early in the second period to finally make some leeway at 5:37, when Valtteri Filppula perfectly centered a pass that Zetterberg redirected by Ilya Bryzgalov.
Zetterberg pounded home Bertuzzi’s rebound at 13:54.
Filppula and Zetterberg put the game out of reach with goals in the last three minutes.
Zetterberg Records Hat Trick as Wings Pull Even
By Kirkland Crawford, Free Press, April 16th, 2010
Henrik Zetterberg had a hat trick, including the game-winner, and Valtteri Filppula scored twice as the Red Wings beat the Coyotes, 7-4, in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals tonight in Glendale, Ariz.
The floodgates opened in the second period. Zetterberg tied the game at one on a power play goal from Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall at 6:27.
At 13:54 (of the 3rd period), Henrik Zetterberg banged home a Todd Bertuzzi rebound for his second goal to put the Wings in front again.
Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings' high-scoring left wing, has awarded his second set of two $1 ,500 scholarships, this year to Erica Zazo of Northville and Kevin Killian of Orchard Lake St. Mary's. April 11th, 2010
2009-10 SEASON IN REVIEW: Zetterberg Offensive Numbers Affected by Injuries
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 11th, 2010
The Detroit Redwings finished the regular season on Sunday with a 3-2 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks, winning their last three games, going 8-1-1 in their final 10 games.
Prior to the season I predicted 52 regular season wins, 114 points, and they defeat the San Jose Sharks in the Conference Finals, and go on to defeat the Boston Bruins in seven games to win back the Stanley Cup. Obviously, Due to injuries to numerous players the Wings weren’t able to reach those marks, and if they win I think it would be
As for Henrik Zetterberg, had a second straight down year statistically, based on everyone’s (including my own) expectations. Hank netted only 23 total goals this year. He ended up third on the team behind Pavel Datsyuk (27) and Tomas Holmstrom (25). Z did have a team-high 70 points in 74 games, and 309 total shots (4th in the league).
While Henrik’s goal scoring luck wasn’t very good, his playmaking ability was amongst his career best. He looked particularly good delivering a lot of outstanding passes and was able to get a team-leading 47 assists (20th in the NHL), five more than last season.
Z hit two other major milestones this season, playing his 500th career game and also recording his 200th career goal. Having played 506 regular season games in the NHL, Zetterberg now ranks 12th on
Zetterberg's 70 total points ranked 27th in the league but his plus-minus of 12 was merely above average (68th in the league). It is the worst +/- of his career since he had just a +6 during his rookie year (2002-03).
Why? This season, the Red Wings suffered a ton of injuries to top forwards. Zetterberg had to adjust to playing on mix and match lines while recovering from his own injuries as well.
Zetterberg missed 8 games from a separated shoulder injury he suffered from a hard shoulder-to-shoulder check from Swedish defenseman Mattias Ohlund in the first period of a 3-0 win over
Watching him closely, it’s clear that Hank hasn’t lost his superior defensive skills. He still skates aggressively, gets in good defensive positions, rarely takes lazy penalties, and fights for the puck along the boards. Simply put, this guy hasn’t stopped playing his heart out since he came into the league. The decline in his plus/minus is certainly a case of Z being the victim of circumstances and adjusting to different 2nd tier line-mates.
There is no doubt that being on the second line with numerous combinations of line-mates which have often included Valtteri Filppula (-4), Todd Bertuzzi (-7), Dan Cleary (-3) and Ville Leino (-10). Zetterberg rarely had an opportunity to develop chemistry with a set pair of wingers, which has got to affect defensive coverage. More-so than that, NOT playing on the top unit with Datsyuk (+17), Tomas Holmstrom (+5), and Norris Trophy winning defenseman and team captain Niklas Lidstrom (+22) is hurting Z statistically.
Some might argue that, in the past, Z was the beneficiary of being on a line with great players, which is true. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that despite Pavel Datsyuk being last season’s Selke award winner for the leagues best defensive forward, it is Zetterberg who is likely considered by most to be the best defensive forward in the team. Need evidence? Look no further than game situations: short-handed 5-on-3 penalty kills, key face-offs in their own zone, etc. Which forward does
In seven complete NHL seasons, Zetterberg has totals of +6, +15, +29, +26, +30, +13, and +12. While his numbers are down this year, it’s hard to believe that Hank will remain that low for long. Even on the second line, he should be able to develop chemistry with two of the wingers and eventually get a higher plus/minus.
Zetterberg made it through the season with no reports of him having any issues with his lower back or wrist tendonitis, which have both been chronic problems in the past. Henrik was able to remain relatively healthy missing only the eight games with a separated shoulder.
I think Zetterberg will step-it-up a notch in the playoffs again this year. I’m not sure we are going to see another Conn Smyth winning performance, I think you can expect a strong showing and some increased point production compared to the regular season.
Zetterberg Passes Red Kelly on Detroit’s All-time Points Leaders List
By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, April 4th, 2010
With an assist on Pavel Datsyuk’s third period goal, in the 4-3 loss against the Flyers today in Philadelphia, Henrik Zetterberg recorded his 473 career point (206 goals and 267 assists), passing legendary Hall-of-Famer Leonard “Red” Kelly for 12th place on the Red Wings All-time Scoring Leaders List.
Pistons' Swedish rookie Jonas Jerebko excels in that other winter sport
By Jo-Ann Barnas, Free Press, April 1, 2010
Once a casual fan of the NBA, Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg became hooked last summer when fellow Swede Jonas Jerebko was selected by the Pistons in the second round of the draft.
Since then, Zetterberg has been a box-score junkie, looking up Jerebko’s stats — minutes, points and rebounds.
“It’s fun to follow,” Zetterberg said.
The Swedish Red Wings — there are seven — let it be known to Jerebko months ago that if the rookie needs help adjusting to life in the
Jerebko, after all, is the only Swede in the NBA.
With two weeks remaining in the regular season — and the team out of the playoffs — the Wings know that Jerebko has been one of the few highlights for the Pistons.
Jerebko, 23, is a Wings fan, too. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall said they love Jerebko’s vibe: “Our record with him being here is pretty good; he was saying he’s 7-1.”
Zetterberg said: “Jonas likes hockey, so he’s come to a good city for that. I’m still looking to find a pair of skates for him so he can come and skate with us guys for a practice.”
Jerebko played club hockey in
The search for skates hasn’t been easy: At 6-feet-10 and 231 pounds, Jerebko wears size 15.
“We’re trying to make some for him,” Zetterberg said with a smile.
