In a season fraught with them, identifying disturbing trends in Detroit is hardly a tough task these days.
Yet, perhaps one of the most troubling developments for the Detroit Red Wings this season has gone relatively unreported: Pavel Datsyuk is not himself.
Through 27 games played, Datsyuk has 21 points (7 G, 14 A) and a plus-three rating. This is slightly off his progress through the same number of games last season that saw him amass 29 points and a plus-5 rating.
Not a huge drop off, especially considering Datsyuk is a bit of a slow starter.
However, this year, Pavel is not sharing the offensive load with the likes of Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen.
This season, Datsyuk, who is already one of the cornerstones of the franchise, has had his role increased due to off-season roster losses and injuries to current players.
If anything, his point totals should be well above where they were a year ago.
Despite the much increased need for Datsyuk's uncanny offensive abilities, he is on pace for his lowest season point total since his sophomore season in 2002-03.
While it is true that one c ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Matt Hutter
Pavel Datsyuk Must Recover His Game if Detroit Red Wings Are to Improve
December 8th, 2009 by Matt Hutter Leave a reply »
Advertisement