DETROIT -- Darren Helm remembers the first time he saw his number next to Pavel Datsyuk's on the lineup sheet -- and nearly panicked.
"It was quite a shock, disbelief," he said before Tuesday night's Game 3 (6 p.m. pregame, 7 p.m. face-off on FOX Sports Detroit). "I was pretty nervous the first few games, and even practices. It took me time to get over that."
You'd never know it by watching him. Formerly a third-line center elevated to Detroit's top scoring line, Helm enjoyed a career-best season with 15 goals among 33 points in 75 games -- most of them on Datsyuk's wing. And he continued his good work in the postseason, assisting on Detroit's first two goals in Game 1.
"He gives Datsyuk pace," coach Mike Babcock said of Helm. "He's at the net. He's on the puck. To me, he's been one of our best forwards in this series by far."
Helm, 28, the fastest skater in the fastest opening series in the NHL this spring, has come a long way since he broke into the league to help the Wings win the Stanley Cup as a fourth-line center in 2008.
"When he was a kid, we used to call him 'Danger' because he was dangerous to everybody -- us and (the other team) the way he was running around so fast," Babcock said. But eventually, Helm found his game and adjusted.
"You just settle down," Babcock said. "Your hockey sense picks up, and the game slows down for you and you become what you were as a kid and that's what he's done."
If there is a key to his success, Helm said, it's understanding who he is as a player and not trying to be something else.
"Just not getting away from what I do best," he said, adding that merely playing next to one of the world's best hockey players, "doesn't mean I'm a skill player all of a sudden, that I can handle the puck and make plays.
"My skill is working hard, using my speed, finishing my checks. Just kind of moving the puck as I can. That's my game and that's how I have to play."
And that's precisely what Datsyuk needs and wants. In fact, Babcock noted earlier in the season that Datsyuk requested Helm on his wing primarily for his speed and work ethic.
"I never thought that would happen," Helm said. "It took me a little time to get over that. But as soon as I realized that was a spot where I was going to stay for a bit I was able to just play my game. I'm fortunate to be playing with a player of his caliber. I just want to do what I can to help him be successful and for me to be successful. Whatever that takes, I'll do."
