The Detroit Red Wings are hoping a reshuffling of the lines can help two of their oldest players find their game.
Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are expected to be reunited on a line for Game 1 of the Red Wings' first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
"Those two guys play well off each other," Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill told Bill Roose of the club's official website.
"They think the game very similar. They play the game very similar. I think today's hockey has become very much north-south, but they're two guys who still like to play east to west. So when they're together, it might accentuate their positives a little better. The decision I always have to make is is that the right thing for the hockey team in its entirety? Right now, we've made the decision that it's the right thing to start here most likely in Game 1."
Both experienced forwards are mired in scoring slumps. Zetterberg, the Red Wings' captain, hasn't scored in his last 11 games and has a single marker in his last 24 contests. Datsyuk, Detroit's elder statesman, hasn't scored in his last 10 games.
Blashill says he sees signs that Zetterberg is on the verge of breaking out of his drought.
"When I went back over the last 20 games, his scoring chances have been very good. He hasn't really dropped off that much from the previous 20 games prior to that or really throughout the season. You're always going to have a little ebb and flow on that.
I see him still playing at a high level. He's got tons of responsibility. He's had to play against a lot of the other teams' best players, which is not an easy task. I just think if he keeps playing the same game, the production will come."
A glimpse at the analytics confirms reuniting the veteran pair is a smart move.
The line of Datsyuk, Justin Abdelkader, and Zetterberg drove possession better than all other Red Wings combinations this season, with a 57.88 even-strength Corsi For percentage, according to Corsica Hockey.
Zetterberg spent most of his regular-season minutes alongside Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin, while Datsyuk played more time with Brad Richards and Darren Helm, but neither player was as productive with those groups from a possession standpoint.
