Injured Pavel Datsyuk on Olympics in Russia: 'Unbelievable feeling'

Limited by a lower-body injury for much of the past six weeks, Russian captain and perennial Selke nominee Pavel Datsyuk has played in just three games in the 2014 calender year. In the two NHL tuneups in which Datsyuk appeared before the Olympic break, the Red Wings centerman played fewer than fifteen minutes and didn't take face-offs...

But Datsyuk will attempt to shake off the rust and any lingering pain this week when he represents his country at the 2014 Olympic games on home soil.

Datsyuk was asked if he'd been looking forward to this moment since Russia was announced as the Olympic host six years ago (which is what Red Wings general manager Ken Holland suggested earlier this week). "Not six," Datsyuk responded. "All my life."

Continued Datsyuk: "It's good feeling. We come back and play home Olympics in front of your fans; it's unbelievable feeling. This is Olympics is much more pressure. Usually lots of pressure, but this is much more because play home in front of our fans, and we need handle it and convert to energy, this pressure. That will be good help for us."