Fantastic! Datsyuk Expecting to Participate Friday

VIDEO: One of the greatest moments from Datsyuk! Watch video below..

Zetterberg replaced Boyd Devereaux on the Datsyuk-Hull line, and the famous version of the “Two Kids and an Old Goat Line” was born. He played only 64 games due to a knee injury but ended up with 51 points for the season. His playoff performance was disappointing, however, the same as the entire Red Wings team; Detroit was swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round, and Datsyuk was held pointless.

The departure of Sergei Fedorov in the 2003 off-season made room for Datsyuk to rise to prominence on the Red Wings. He took full advantage of his elevated ice time, where his playmaking skills earned him a spot in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. In the 2004 playoffs, he had no goals and six assists through 12 games before Detroit was eliminated in the second round by the Calgary Flames.

Datsyuk became a restricted free agent during the 2004–05 off-season but could not reach a deal with the Red Wings despite repeated statements by his agent, Gary Greenstin, indicating his desire to stay in Detroit. He chose not to take the salary dispute to arbitration, and instead played with Dynamo Moscow during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. On September 4, 2005, Datsyuk then signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Superleague (RSL),[6] where Dynamo Moscow matched the offer two days later, retaining the player.

Datsyuk has missed the Wings’ first 15 games while recovering from offseason ankle surgery. The 37-year-old will likely start by playing the wing on the top line, centered by Henrik Zetterberg.

The Wings went an acceptable 8-6-1 in Datsyuk’s absence, but they required excellent goaltending to do it. Detroit has been outshot by an average of 32.4 to 25.3, the worst differential in the league.

We’ll see tomorrow if one of the greatest two-way forwards in NHL history can do anything about that.

By Jason Brough

Source: http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/11/12/datsyuk-expected-to-play-friday/