How good is Pavel Datsyuk? We’ve seen him do so many things with the best set of hands in the NHL, but do we really understand how good of a player he is? Offensively, defensively, he is powerful no matter where he is on the ice.
Despite seeing a certain level of skill out of Datsyuk, he’s always been able to take his play to another level. During last night’s game against the Nashville Predators, Datsyuk did exactly that.
You could see in his play throughout the night, and especially during the third period that Datsyuk was on the verge of something great. He put together a couple of huge shifts where the puck just followed him around as he danced around defenders.
It wasn’t until around the 13:15 mark of the third period when the magic happened. Datsyuk began in his own zone by laying a hard hit on a Predator, knocking him to the ice. He moves forward and picks up a loose puck at his own circle and begins to rush up the ice. Datsyuk proceeded to dangle everyone on the ice in a yellow jersey before firing a shot past goaltender Pekka Rinne.
Datsyuk’s goal was easily the highlight of the night, despite the Red Wings coming up short after a Shea Weber overtime game winner. This goal has even started some chatter about being the highlight reel goal of the year.
Check out Datsyuk’s incredible dangles against the Predators and leave us your thoughts in the comments!
