Hall of Famer asks: What would Gaborik do if set free?

More people wonder how good the Wild's Marian Gaborik, who scored five goals Thursday against the Rangers, could be if he was in a more offensive system.

"He's the new NHL sweetheart," Hall of Famer Denis Potvin said during a phone interview Saturday. "People want to compare him to [Detroit Red Wings stars Pavel] Datsyuk and [Henrik] Zetterberg, but to me, Gaborik can be far ahead of those guys if he was given a format to provide more offense. He's on a team that's survived by keeping the goals down.

"I think Gaborik is as wonderful a player as there is in the game. There's something about his body language that excites me more than Sidney Crosby. There are very few guys in my book as fast as him, and there's never a hitch in his handling the puck. And the quick release with the wrist shot is ridiculous."

As a four-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman, Potvin was asked how he'd defend Gaborik.

"Just back up," Potvin said. "When he transitions, you've got to in very quick order get backup speed going because he'll close in on you so fast, you won't have time to turn around and catch him."

Among active players who have not turned 26 yet, Gaborik's nine hat tricks are tied for the most with Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk. Gaborik tied Wes Walz's franchise mark of 438 games Saturday.

Lost in translation

Apparently, the Team of 18,000 is a bad influence. After Thursday's "Marian Gaborik Night," Brian Rolston's 6-year-old son, Ryder, asked him what "sieve" meant.

"The crowd was [chanting] it at [Rangers goalie Henrik Lund- qvist], so [Ryder] picked up on it," Rolston said, laughing. "I told him what a sieve was."

But Ryder must have misunderstood because Friday he chanted "sieve, sieve, sieve ..." at Gaborik.

Still, a game like Thursday is how kids fall in love with hockey.

"Not because Gabby scored five goals, because I don't know if young kids comprehend that," Rolston said. "But it was the excitement in the building. There was a true excitement in the building."

Back, and up front

Defenseman Petteri Nummelin has been patient and finally returned to action, as a forward, Saturday for the first time in 14 games.

On injured reserve since he suffered a head injury Nov. 21, Nummelin has been healthy enough to play for nearly three weeks. But the Wild had no roster space.

With the NHL in a holiday roster freeze, teams can go over the maximum 23 on a roster, so Nummelin was activated to play against Detroit. The Wild will have to get under the 23-man max by Friday.

• Matt Foy and Kurtis Foster were scratched for the Wild.

• Niklas Backstrom started for the Wild in goal.

Two worth touting

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock knows how lucky he is to have Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

"I thought Zetterberg was the best player in the NHL in the first six weeks of the season," Babcock said before Detroit's 4-1 victory over the Wild on Saturday. "I hear everybody when I'm watching games talking about [Vincent] Lecavalier and Crosby. But the best player in the league right now is Datsyuk, without any question, in my opinion."

Before Saturday, Zetterberg, who didn't play against the Wild because of back spasms, was second in the NHL with 25 goals and 50 points. Datsyuk was ninth with 42 points.

"Pavel, if you want to just bring someone out of your seat, simple flash, 1-on-1, putting the puck on a string, there's no one that can do it like him," Babcock said. "And then for just doing everything right, day in, day out, offensively, defensively, mistake-free, that's Zetterberg."

Amazingly, Zetterberg was drafted 210th overall in 1999; Datsyuk was taken 171st in 1998.