Datsyuk and the Art of Elevating One's Game

I went on last evening about the brilliance of Pavel Datsyuk in last night's win over San Jose... not that any of you noticed.  Other people have noticed Pavel's brilliance, albeit not through my pathetic scribblings here at EIP.  Here's Mike Brophy, writing on the subject of this year's Conn Smythe trophy candidates at Sportsnet.ca:

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings: An injured Pavel Datsyuk is better than no Pavel Datsyuk at all. The three-time defending Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's best defensive forward, Datsyuk was a sight to behold Sunday in San Jose. Despite being unable to take faceoffs because of a wrist injury, Datsyuk was the most dominant skater on the ice drawing three assists and playing keep-away with the puck. With so many members of the Wings playing hurt, Datsyuk's wizardry has helped keep Detroit alive.

So: noted.  Dats is great and there's just no arguing that.  What is terribly worrisome for the Wings and the future of their quest for Cup Number 12 , however, is that tell-tale phrase "with so many members of the Wings playing hurt..."  There's a quantity issue in that statement, as well as a quality issue.  It's not the sheer number of injured players, it's WHO is playing injured and how much those injuries are affecting their performance.  Case in point: Johan Franzen wound up sitting on the bench for most of the third period last night, unable to skate because of the pain from an ankle injury.  He's been playing hurt... when he's played at all... for the entire Sharks series.  And how much do the Wings miss The Mule?  Consider these records:

• NHL record for most goals in a 4-game playoff series (9).
• Detroit Red Wings record for most game winning goals in one month, March 2008 (6).
• Detroit Red Wings record for most goals in a single playoff series (9).
• Detroit Red Wings record for consecutive playoff games with a point (12, tied with Gordie Howe)
• Detroit Red Wings record for consecutive playoff games with a goal (5, tied with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay).
• Detroit Red Wings record for most goals in a single playoff year (13, tied with Henrik Zetterberg).
• Detroit Red Wings record for most game winning goals in one playoff year (5, 2008)
• Detroit Red Wings record for most points in a playoff game (6), May 6, 2010, vs. San Jose Sharks

Franzen is a scoring machine in the playoffs and his absence explains, in part, Detroit's scoring paucity in the San Jose series.  Let's talk Zee, as well, since Zetterberg is mentioned in the same breath as The Mule, above.  Zetterberg missed the entire Phoenix series and hasn't been himself in the Sharks series, although he's improving with every game.  He isn't 100% and that much is obvious.  Those two guys are the biggest and most obvious holes in Dee-troit's offense.  So can the Wings overcome their lack of production?  Yes, with caveats.

Here's what Stu Hackel sez about that (at SI.com):

When a player ups his game the way Datsyuk did on Sunday night, it can lift an entire team. In fact, that’s just what Babcock and other coaches hope for, that their whole club moves up on the intensity scale and wants to win more. The team starts to collectively exert the extra effort to win more of those one-on-one fights for the puck, and come back harder defensively, and block more shots, break up more plays and create more of their own chances than their opponent does. You see one of your teammates give more, and you want to give more, too. It’s contagious at this time of year, or should be, and you don’t win in the playoffs without it.

This is the point in time when we discover if the Wings really have it in them to hold on, hang on, raise their game, and continue to succeed.  This is also the time the younger guys have to step up, when the vaunted depth of the Red Wings needs to materialize in substantive ways.  There's not much doubt the capability is there, all the Young Guns need is leadership and examples to follow.  I think they have both in numerous role models (can you say "Lidstrom?"  Sure ya can.)... but Dats is leading the way right now.

They can do this.