Pavel Datsyuk’s spotty production upon returning from offseason surgery caused some minor concern. It took four games before he landed on the score sheet, and he only registered three points through ten games - not a good sign for a 37 year old coming off an injury.

The eye test confirms he’s a step slower, but this is Datsyuk, so the issues didn’t last long, and over the last 14 contests he tallied eleven points. His advanced stats are solid, and his return (along with that of Mike Green and Brad Richards around the same time) helped push a somewhat struggling team up the Atlantic Division standings.

And no one should’ve underestimated Datsyuk. He’s among the league’s smartest, craftiest, and most intelligent players. He’ll adjust to remain effective and continue producing long after his body should be preventing him from doing so.

That said, he could use some help. But prior to Saturday’s game against Buffalo, Jeff Blashill regularly deployed Pavel with Richards on one wing and Teemu Pulkkinen or Darren Helm on the other. None of that group is exactly in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

For some reason, the coaching staff is depriving Datsyuk of any real firepower on a team with several goal scorers to choose from, like Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist. They’re both top six material and could benefit greatly from having Datsyuk sling pucks their way, but instead have been running on the third line with Riley Sheahan, a center who definitely belongs in the line up’s bottom half.

While that line is effective, keeping an aging-but-still-elite playmaking center who registered a point per game last year apart from two goal scorers entering their prime doesn't seem like good management.

Still, in theory, the second line isn’t a bad combo. Pulkkinen is known for his hard shot and Helm’s coming of a career year on Datsyuk’s wing, but there’s no evidence indicating that it’s actually working out.

In an eleven game span with Pulkkinen on his wing, Datsyuk recorded zero assists on Pulkkinen goals. During the 13 games Blashill installed Helm in Pulkk’s place, Datsyuk set up Helm for countless chances, but only has one helper to show for his efforts.

That’s one assist between the two wingers in 24 games, though during that run Datsyuk recorded 12. Which shows that guys he spends less time skating with are still scoring more than Helm and Pulkkinen. These aren’t advanced stats and anyone can see an obvious solution, which is to get Helm and Pulkk off the line.

Prior injuring his shoulder, Pulkkinen was on pace for just under 20 goals with a shooting percentage slightly above league average. That’s not terrible, but for a one-dimensional player skating with Datsyuk, it’s not much to get excited about. Pulkkinen can shoot, and the Hull comparisons are out there, but it’s hard not to watch him and think of Ricky Vaughn, Charlie Sheen’s character in Major League. He has potential, but until he gets some glasses, he’s not a guy you throw on Datsyuk’s wing.

And Helm is looking worse. After scoring 15 goals last season, mostly riding alongside Datsyuk and opposite Tatar, he’s on target for eight goals this campaign. Sure, he’s fast, but hands that stone solid aren’t the stuff one wants on a top six player, or a guy who is blessed to receive pucks off Datsyuk’s stick every night.

Then there’s Richards. This is a little more difficult, as there appeared to be some good chemistry between he and Datsyuk, and Richards is clearly skilled, but, again, not a lot on the score sheet suggests he should have spent 20 games slotted in that spot.

Meanwhile, the third line of Sheahan-Tatar-Nyquist put up 2.5 as many points as the second line in the last two months, mostly because two top six guys are chewing up easy competition. That’s likely part of Blashill’s plan, but Sheahan isn’t as good as his linemates, and one has to wonder if those are the ideal spots for two highly skilled players, especially when there’s an elite center one line up in need of a guy like them.

That Blashill stuck with the lines for so long is a little baffling, given how clear the picture is and how little it takes for him to shake up lines during a game. He finally made some changes on Saturday, removing Richards from the equation and putting Tatar in his spot. But that meant Dylan Larkin, who's second on the team in points, saw his ice time drop from between 17 and 18 minutes to 12:34.

Is that the best use of Larkin? Should Helm be playing more minutes than Larkin, Nyquist, Tatar, or Richards? Shouldn’t Helm be on the fourth line? And what happens when Pulkkinen returns from injury? To be sure, there’s more to it than "cram the guys with the most points in the top six." It’s not easy to know the best combination, and forward depth is a good problem to have. But setting up Datsyuk and two goal scorers entering their prime for as much success as possible should be a priority.