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Pavel Datsyuk leaned against a wall in the Red Wings locker room when suddenly a spray of water hit his ankles.
Datsyuk whirled around just as Henrik Zetterberg disappeared into the players'
lounge.
Datsyuk turned and smiled. "You see?" he said. "I'm good guy. He play joke on me. He try lots of jokes.
"Sometimes, they're not good jokes."
The quality of a joke, of course, can be argued. Zetterberg, when he reappeared
a moment later, was grinning, so clearly he thought this joke was good.
What both can agree on, though, all of the time, is just how much the two enjoy
being on the ice together. The only ones who don't have fun are opponents, because
it's almost impossible to get the puck away from the pair.
Even with two defenders on him, Datsyuk can spin around and pass the puck between
his feet; Zetterberg can wheel it around the offensive zone and protect it fiercely.
They are a top reason why the Wings are favored to emerge from their second-round
series with Calgary, which begins Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.
"They're the Eurotwins," center Kris Draper said. "That's what
we call them. They feed off each other well, and obviously they want to play
together, too. You can kind of tell by the way they carry themselves on the
ice; they have tremendous chemistry. It seems they can read each other very
well. It doesn't matter who is playing with them on the right side. They're
going to benefit from their playmaking abilities -- they cycle the puck, they
take the puck to the net, they can score off the rush. We're going to rely on
those guys big time."
Datsyuk, a Russian, is coming off his best season, with 30 goals among 68 points
in 75 games, second in scoring on the team only to latecomer Robert Lang. Zetterberg,
a Swede, had 28 assists among 43 points in 61 games. A broken leg cost him 21
games in November and December.
Datsyuk and Zetterberg began playing together in January 2002, when coach Dave
Lewis delivered a stroke of genius and put them with right wing Brett Hull.
The line was split up to start this season, because with the departures of Sergei
Fedorov and Igor Larionov the Wings needed centers, the position Zetterberg
played in Sweden. But the coaching staff never forgot what an impact the three
could have, which is why, when the Wings needed a jolt to get out of the first
round, the answer was easy.
After two straight losses to Nashville yielded a tie series, Lewis put Zetterberg,
Datsyuk and Hull back together for Game 5. Within seven minutes the line had
given the team a 2-0 lead. The Wings had the series wrapped up one game later.
Although the line didn't score in Game 6, it wasn't for lack of threat. During
the second period, for instance, Datsyuk drove to the net and dropped a pass
into the slot for Zetterberg, who was too tightly covered by the Predators to
get off a good shot.
Of all the All-Stars the Wings have, it was Datsyuk, 25, and Zetterberg, 23
-- together mostly with Hull -- who worried the Predators the most, drawing
their top defensive pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Mark Eaton.
"They're pretty unique players," captain Steve Yzerman said of Datsyuk
and Zetterberg. "They've become, very quickly, top players in the league.
They're tremendous offensive guys, but play well in their own end as well. They're
tough to match up against because they play hard and they're very smart and
very strong. We're thrilled to have them. They work extremely well together."
Three-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom occasionally goes against the
two in practice. Even when it's all among teammates, they're not much fun for
a defenseman.
"You have to spend a lot of time in your own end chasing them, and it's
tough to defend that," Lidstrom said. "Pavel is a bit more tricky
with the puck, but Hank gains a lot of ice just kind of holding you off on the
side, whereas Pavel can stickhandle right through you, turn back and go against
the flow almost. So they're a little bit different that way, but they're both
real tough to play against."
The chemistry the two have on the ice has, by several accounts, blossomed because
of their camaraderie off the ice. The coaching staff placed them together as
road roommates at the start of the season, and that, as the great line goes,
was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
"Very good, yeah," Datsyuk said. "We have a lot of fun, outside,
inside."
The two used to spend hours indulging in PlayStation's FIFA soccer, but then,
"I killed him so he doesn't want to play any more," Zetterberg said.
The two kick around a real soccer ball as part of their pregame ritual, but
there's some dispute about the standings.
"PlayStation, he win a couple times, so I no more play," Datsyuk said.
"It's not my game. Real soccer, I beat him."
Except, according to Zetterberg, he's winning.
"That stuff he said about real soccer?" Zetterberg said. "Not
true. I'm up by four."
The two are constant dinner companions on the road, and often find their way
to a cinema afterward. Asked what type of movies they like, Datsyuk smiled.
"Romances and drama," he said. "After movie, we cry."
They have plans for the future. With a labor dispute expected to wipe out at
least part of next season, Zetterberg is encouraging Datsyuk to come play in
Sweden.
"He teaches me Swedish," Datsyuk said, pronouncing it "Sch-wedish."
Asked for an example, Datsyuk had only one. "Shooklaad," he replied,
pronouncing the Swedish word "choklad."
Which makes sense. Because if there's one word that's going to help Datsyuk
when a coach starts talking about the power play in Swedish, it's to reply "chocolate."
It's certainly much more insightful than the old standard for foreign-language
beginners, "Hello, friend, my name is . . . . How are you? I am fine."
They talk about hockey, too, and the playoffs. Datsyuk had the rare fortune
to win the Stanley Cup as a rookie, in 2002, while Zetterberg's rookie season,
last year, ended after a four-game, first-round loss to Anaheim. Now the two
have become integral parts of the team. Zetterberg was the Wings' best forward
until his injury, Datsyuk the best overall. Together they are a pure migraine
to opponents, and a perfect match for each other.
"When me and Pavel go out there together, it works for both of us,"
Zetterberg said. "We do a lot of good stuff out there. We like to play
with each other and we haven't been playing the whole year, so when they put
us together for the playoffs, it was great. It's fun, because every time, something
happens."
And that's no joke.