Red Wings: Notebook

Pavel Datsyuk steals win with sneaky skills

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Calgary, Alberta -- It doesn't matter how many times his name has been engraved on the Stanley Cup (twice) or the Selke Trophy (last two seasons), Pavel Datsyuk is never going to take himself or his bountiful skills too seriously.

"I skate awesome," he said after he helped the Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames, 3-1, on Saturday. "I am like, woosh, but I am still not fast. Everybody skate better than me. I feel like I am flying, but it still looks the same."

Well, there is sprinter's speed and being sneaky fast. Datsyuk is more the latter. Just ask Calgary's Curtis Glencross.

Datsyuk set up the winning goal by pilfering the puck away from an unaware Glencross in the neutral zone, busting into the attack zone and finding Tomas Holmstrom between the circles.

"Those are the kind of things we take for granted because we see them game in and game out," Kris Draper, himself a former Selke Award winner for best defensive forward, said of Datsyuk. "People underestimate how strong he is on his stick. I can't say enough about what he does at both ends of the rink. When he's playing like that, he's just a dominant hockey player."

Glencross had the puck, skating laterally away from Datsyuk. He couldn't have known Datsyuk was as close as he was. Datsyuk, in one quick motion, lifted Glencross' stick, swiped the puck and was gone.

"He should be a pickpocket, that little begger," Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon told the Calgary Herald after the game. "I mean, you're not looking, he's lying in wait and pfft, he's got your wallet and is whistling his way down the street while you're off looking for a policeman.

"He's just stealth."

He's also glue. He and fellow centerman Henrik Zetterberg put on a clinic Saturday in neutral zone defense and effective backchecking. Their lines completely bottled up the Flames' top two lines.

Flames leading scorer Jarome Iginla was a minus-two, with no shots and five turnovers.

"Anytime you play against Hank and Pav, it's tough," Draper said. "They thrive on those situations. They are just two great and complete centermen. When those two play like that, they are frustrating to play against."

The Flames, limited to just 21 shots, would concur.

May stays behind

Forward Brad May stayed in Calgary on Saturday night while the rest of the team flew back to Detroit.

May was poked in the right eye accidentally by the flailing stick of teammate Jason Williams while May was on the bench in the third period.

"He should be fine," said Wings head athletic trainer Piet Van Zant , who took May to a hospital in Calgary and stayed behind with him. "He may miss a bit of time, but he will be OK."

Van Zant said May had hyphema (blood in the eye), which isn't as serious as it sounds. May's vision should not be impacted.

Ice chips

Coach Mike Babcock had some praise for youngsters Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader Saturday.

"Helmer, how good was he?" Babcock said. "He missed training camp and it's taken him this long to be a player. And I thought this was Abby's best game of the year. He looked like a player."

chris.mccosky@detnews.com (313) 222-1489