Zetterberg isn't about to buck tradition, gets it done defensively

Detroit

He could've just been the fancy-goal guy. He has the speed and skill and the zippy Swedish name, plenty of ingredients to make a nice little living in the NHL.

So, um, why does Henrik Zetterberg take such glee in back-checking the puffy pads off the other team's best players? Why, with all that starry ability, is Zetterberg so willing to do the dirty work?

He chuckles because the answer is obvious, although not to everyone. It bears repeating, with the Red Wings in the Western Conference finals and the Blackhawks touting the next batch of rising stars in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who skated smack into Zetterberg's line in Game 1.

In Detroit, you play defense or you don't play. It's that simple, from Scotty Bowman to Mike Babcock, from Steve Yzerman to Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. That's why, when we constantly question why someone isn't scoring, and hey, what's the problem fellas, this is what the Wings hear: Blablablablabla (loosely translated).

"You don't pay that much attention to what the critics say," Zetterberg said. "You can contribute so much more than just scoring goals. When you play against a really good offensive line, you will create turnovers and get your chances too. The key is playing your defense first. As for goals, it doesn't really matter individually."

It takes work

That's easy for an average hockey player to say. It has to be tougher for someone as talented as Zetterberg.

Back-checking and puck-poking don't make the highlights. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kane make the highlights. And honest to goodness, that's perfectly fine with Zetterberg, who scores a fair share of goals, 31 in the regular season. Last we checked, he did win the Conn Smythe Trophy and tie a team record with 13 goals in the Wings' Stanley Cup run last spring.

Zetterberg is flashing the form again that makes him one of hockey's top two-way stars, and a thoroughly underrated leader. In the 5-2 victory in Game 1, he helped check the giddiness out of Kane's line, boosted by the Wings' terrific defense pairing of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. Zetterberg has seven goals in these playoffs, although three were empty-netters. Linemates Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary have done the heavy goal-lifting lately.

At some point, Datsyuk (no goals in 10 games), Marian Hossa (two goals in eight games) and Tomas Holmstrom (no goals in eight games) must score. But there's less angst in the Wings dressing room during slumps because the example is always reinforced.

"The fact that Z relishes shutting down the other teams' top lines, when almost every other team in the league will put a defensive centerman in that role, that says a lot about him," Cleary said. "He's not concerned about numbers. He loves the challenge, and we have to follow. I mean, if Pavs and Z do it, who is anyone else not to do it?"

Datsyuk is a finalist for the Hart Trophy (MVP) and the Selke (best defensive forward). He has to score eventually, he really does, but he still has a big impact on games.

Zetterberg's line was the difference the other night and you could see it on the score sheet, and also in the faces of Kane and Toews. Kane was held without a shot for the fourth time all season, and he sounded like a 20-year-old discovering a different level of hockey. He admitted he wasn't used to an opponent putting someone as good as Zetterberg against his line.

That's the hidden element of the Wings -- by demanding defense and putting their best on the other team's best, they can force the opponent to play defense at the expense of offense. The thing is, it only works if your best buy into it.

Easy sell

Zetterberg, 28, bought into it quickly, taking ample notes on team-first humility from Yzerman.

"It comes from the top, and Stevie was the perfect example -- he always took care of his own end first," Zetterberg said. "The first year here, you don't get an opportunity to play offense. You start on the defense and earn your minutes that way."

It's one thing for a team to preach defense. It's another thing to reward it. Forwards such as Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby have lasted all these years because they do it. Yzerman won all those years because he committed to it. Franzen and Cleary have risen because they follow it.

This series is just getting started, and the Blackhawks can adjust. They're skilled enough to dent any defense, and they probably will. But it will be harder than they realized.

"I don't think (Kane) played as bad as everyone says," Zetterberg said. "I thought he was dangerous a few times. He can create something out of nothing."

Zetterberg can create something out of nothing, too. But trust him on this: It's almost as much fun forcing others to create nothing out of something.

bob.wojnowski@detnews.com">bob.wojnowski@detnews.com