with Assists on Franzen’s Big Goals

By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, October 11, 2008

After a disappointing opening night at Joe Louis Arena on his 28^th birthday (Oct. 9^th), in which he watched the 2007-08 Stanley Cup Champions banner be raised to the rafters but was unable to make a difference in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Henrik Zetterberg assisted on two huge third-period goals by new line-mate Johan Franzen in the Detroit Red Wings first win if the year, an exciting 3-2 victory over the Senators tonight in Ottawa.

In game one of the 2008-09 season, the newly-formed line of Zetterberg, Franzen, and Jiri Hudler had a hard time finding that chemistry they had in the pre-season. But tonight things were clicking, and Franzen was on, scoring the game-tying and then game-winning goals in the second half of the third period, as the Wings came back from a 2-1 deficit to get the win. Z had a hand in each of the two goals.

First, Henrik forwarded a pass from captain Niklas Lidstrom, ahead to Franzen, who skated in and fired a shot over the glove-hand of Ottawa goaltender Martin Gerber, tying the game at two-a-piece at 11:16 of the third period. 

Then, with less than two minutes remaining in a tied game, Zetterberg collected his second assist when he sent a pass back to defenseman Brian Rafalski at center ice. Rafalski advanced the puck to Franzen, who carried the puck into the zone a zipped a wrister off of the leg of a Senator’s defenseman, bouncing into the net past Gerber, and giving Detroit the win.

Henrik Zetterberg's Skills Seem Limitless; Teammates Praise Raw Ability, Savvy.

By Helene St. James, Free Press, October 5, 2008

There was a moment in his last game when Henrik Zetterberg broke through the opposing defenders, whipped the puck to his right-side winger, took a few steps, and got the puck right back.

That's because Johan Franzen knew exactly what Zetterberg was going to do: drive the net, and, of course, score.

"That's his route," Franzen said. "He created some space and his stick was open."

Zetterberg, whose 28th birthday coincides nicely with Thursday's opening night banner-raising ceremony, has seen his star rise dramatically every season since joining the Wings in 2002-03.

Even when Zetterberg was a rookie, former teammates like Steve Yzerman raved about how good he was with the puck, but also without. His defensive play for a while outshined his offensive talents, but last season his skills with the puck were as clear-cut as his defense. He recorded 43 goals and 49 assists to finish tied for sixth in the regular-season scoring race with 92 points.

"I think the last two years have been good," Zetterberg said. "I've had an opportunity to play a lot and play in all situations, and it helps the confidence."

During the Wings' run to the 2008 Stanley Cup, Zetterberg put on so dominant a playoff performance (13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points, plus-16 rating) he set a team record for most points in one playoff year, and won the Conn Smythe trophy, leaving teammates to wonder what this season will be like.

"Just look back to what he did last year," Niklas Kronwall said. "I don't think there's a limit to what he can achieve, what he can do. If you look at his work ethic day in and day out, it doesn't matter if it's on the ice, off the ice, in the gym, he's always doing it 100%. He's so good both ways. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him score 50 goals."

The only reason Zetterberg might not reach that number is because of the competition within the Wings; his is the second line behind Pavel Datsyuk's with Marian Hossa and Tomas Holmstrom. The third line, set to be Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula and Mikael Samuelsson, is worthy of solid minutes, too.

Zetterberg is only just hitting what's considered the prime of an NHL athlete's years, yet he's already established himself as a bona fide superstar. If he equals or betters last season's numbers, he's going to be among the biggest names available next summer, when he's eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. The Wings, though, have made it a priority to sign him before then, and Zetterberg, too, sounds like he'd prefer to stay.

"I really enjoy it here, and it's become a home for me," Zetterberg said. "I can't really see a better place to play hockey, so hopefully we can figure something out that can work for both of us."

ZETTERBERGFAN'S 2008-09 SEASON PREDICTIONS

By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, October 4th, 2008

Last year, Henrik Zetterberg had four goals and three assists and was a (plus/minus) +8 in four pre-season games and, as predicted, went on to have a career year, leading the Detroit Red Wings in their bid to win the Stanley Cup.

After another outstanding pre-season this year, with four goals, four assists, and a +7 in four exhibition matches, expect Hank to have another MVP-type season.

There are no reports of Zetterberg having any problems with his lower back or wrist tendonitis, which have both been chronic problems for the past couple of years. It looks like Henrik is indeed healthy going into the regular season. If he can stay injury-free he should compete with newly acquired free-agent Marian Hossa (from the Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins) for team-leading goal-scorer this season.

I expect Zetterberg to play over 75 games again this year, missing a few games with minor ailments. With that many games played, he should be able to match or surpass his numbers from a year ago, in which he scored a career high 43 goals. He has already stated to the Swedish media that he would like to aim for Hakan Loobs mark of 50 goals, the most ever by a Swede. It seems that whenever Hank sets his mind to do something, he accomplishes it. With that being said, don’t be surprised if he once again leads Detroit in scoring. If Zetterberg gets 48 this year, he will reach the 200 career goals mark. The last Red Wing to score 50 goals in a season was Sergei Fedorov, who had 56 in 1993-94.

Z could very well match his career-high 49 assists from last season, even with new lnemates Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler. I would say it’s more likely that he will get 45 to 47 helpers this year. He will surpass the 200 career assists milestone with his 20^th assist this upcoming season.

I was pretty accurate with last years predictions so I am going to put myself out there again this time around and say Hank racks up 50 goals and 46 assists, just missing a 100 point season, but surpassing last seasons career-high of 92.

If Zetterberg plays only 45 games this season he will get to 400 for his career. He should finish closer to 430.

With 68 points Henrik will have 400 in his 6^th season. He needs just 35 career points to pass Marcel Dionne (366) for 20^th on Detroit’s all-time scoring list. Z will likely finish 17^th on that list at the end of this season, passing Slava Kozlov’s 415 points as a Red Wing.

A year ago I said, “with the decline of the Nashville Predators and a weaker central division, I expect Detroit to win at least 55 games, five better than last season. The Wings will win the President’s Trophy with around 123 points. I say the beat the Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to become the Western Conference Champions. Detroit defeats Ottawa in the Stanley Cup finals in six.”

Well, I was close. The Wings won 54 regular season matches in an improved Central Division, won the President’s Trophy, and won the Stanley Cup in six games. I was just way off on who they would meet along the way. This time I say, 58 regular season wins, 124 points, Presidents Trophy, defeat the San Jose Sharks in the Conference Finals, and go on to defeat the Montreal Canadians in six games to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Z’s Line Shows Chemistry in Win over Leafs.

By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, October 4, 2008

In last nights 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Center Henrik Zetterberg and wingers Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler looked like they have developed some chemistry and will make a great second scoring line for the Detroit Red Wings this season, as long as Head Coach Mike Babcock leaves the lines the way they are this pre-season.

The line had eight total points and were a combined +6 (plus/minus) controlling the play when they were on the ice. Franzen was first-star-of-the-game with two goals and an assist on Zetterberg’s third period goal. Zetterberg was third-star with the goal and an assist on Franzen’s game-winner later in the third. Hudler had three assists on the night. 

Henrik scored his goal just 1:53 into the third, on the power-play, when he brought the puck down center-ice on a rush and carried it across the blue line with all four Toronto penalty-killers back. Zetterberg dished the puck to Franzen and then skated past three defenders, taking the return pass from his winger and lifting a back-hander over the glove of Leaf’s goaltender Vesa Toskala. The goal gave the Wings a 3-2 lead.

 Toronto’s Head Coach Ron Wilson had this to say after the loss.

“Their best player works hard and our best players work. And if you can’t get inspired watching a guy like Zetterberg for-check, back-check, and play hard, and you’re sitting back thinking, “Ah jeez, I don’t want to do that. That’s a lot of hard work.” Then, we’re not going to win very many games!”

With the two-point effort, Z now has four goals, four assists, and is a +7 in four pre-season games. His eight total points tie him for fourth amongst NHL leaders. 

So far, Detroit is 4-0-0 in exhibition games that the Zetterberg-Franzen-Hudler line plays in.  

Even without Pavel, Henrik is Dominant!

By Chris Turner, Zetterbergfan.com, October 1, 2008

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has attempted to break up the “Eurotwins”, Russian Pavel Datsyuk and Swede Henrik Zetterberg, at the beginning of every season, in an effort to produce two scoring solid lines. It hasn’t completely worked out to date. The dynamic duo has always been re-united to create the on-ice magic that happens when the two are on the same line. But, with the addition of another star European, Czech Marian Hossa, this could be the year that the coach can keep Z and Pavel split.

This pre-season, Babcock has partnered Zetterberg with a new set of Euro linemates: Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler. So far, the trio has been the best line the Wings have put out on the ice.

Zetterberg in particular has been leading the way, playing with the dominance he displayed in last season’s play-offs, in route to winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe award.

Tonight, Hank had another multi-point effort, in his third exhibition game, scoring the game-winning goal and adding assists on both of fellow Swede, Mikael Samuelsson’s power-play tally’s in this evening’s 4-1 win on the road against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Zetterberg scored his go-ahead, and eventually game-winning, goal at 14:41 of the 1^st period. It was unassisted and scored at even-strength, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead.

All three of Zetterberg’s assists this pre-season have come on goals by Samuelsson with the man-advantage. Future Hall-of-Fame defenseman and Wing’s Swedish Captain Niklas Lidstrom also assisted on Samuelsson’s 1^st and 2^nd period power-play goals.  

The three points tonight give Henrik a team-leading three goals and three assists for six total points in three exhibition games.

The Red Wings are now 3-0-0 in pre-season matches that the Zetterberg-Franzen-Hudler line has appeared in. They are 0-1-2 in the rest of the games.

Zetterberg Wants 50 Goals;

Sky's the Limit for Detroit's Confident, Slick Swede

By Dave Waddell, Canwest News Service, October 01, 2008

Numbers don't mean much to Henrik Zetterberg, but history does.

After joining teammate Nicklas Lidstrom as the only European to win the Conn Smythe Trophy last spring as the MVP of the playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings' star has his sights set on becoming only the second Swede to hit the 50-goal plateau in the NHL.

Former Calgary Flames sniper Hakan Loob scored 50 goals in 1987-88.

"Fifty would be a nice number to reach," said Zetterberg, who had 43 goals and 92 points in 75 games last season. "Only one other Swede that has done that.

"If it comes this year or [in] years to come, I don't know. We have a real deep team this year and a lot of players are going to have a lot of ice time. It'll be interesting to see how it goes."

After using the international stage of the playoffs to make a strong case for the title of the game's best two-way player, Zetterberg feels he still has much more to accomplish.

"Ultimately what you want is to have as few as games as you can when you're not so good," said Zetterberg, who led the playoffs in scoring with 13 goals and 27 points in 22 games. "You want your lowest level as high as possible. If you have that, you know you will play good.

"I always want to play good."

Wings coach Mike Babcock believes Zetterberg can be a significantly better player.

"I think he's going to be better player," Babcock said. "The reason he's going to be better is he's confident.

"He knows he's one of the best players in the world. He knows if things don't go right, you just keep on doing what you do."

Zetterberg, who turns 28 on opening night, October 9^th, versus Toronto, has already proved he belongs in any discussion of the game's elite with his performance in the Stanley Cup final.

He won the head-to-head battle with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby.

In fact, one of the enduring images of the final was a frustrated Crosby chasing after Zetterberg, shouting at him following Detroit's Game 4 victory.

"His leadership last year in the playoffs was fantastic," Babcock said. "It wasn't what he said, it was what he did.

"Those are the things you learn over time, that you get confidence from and learn what it takes [to win]."

Often referred to as the heir apparent to the Wings' captaincy, Zetterberg continues the quiet leadership style established in Detroit by Steve Yzerman and Lidstrom.

Zetterberg also shares another trait with Yzerman.

Underneath their calm demeanours, the two are among the most competitive individuals you'll meet regardless of the competition.

"If you do something, you want to do it good," Zetterberg said. "You don't want to do it just half decent.

"You want to do the best you can at your job."

This season, Zetterberg will once again be split up from fellow star forward Pavel Datsyuk.

However, unlike past years, Zetterberg actually thinks Babcock might succeed in keeping them separated for the majority of the time.

"This is the first year we really can [be split up]," Zetterberg said.

"We have the material to split us up. We have good wingers and both me and Pav want to play centre. We'll try again this year and see how long it lasts. The good thing is if it doesn't work we still have a lot of options. We have more than last year.

"It doesn't matter who you play with as long as it works."

With Datsyuk, it was often difficult to tell who was really playing centre with the duo dipsy-doodling all over the ice.

Now paired with Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler, Zetterberg said he'll play a more traditional centre's role.

"When you play with Pavel, you have to be ready all the time," Zetterberg said.