SUNRISE, Fla. -- The quickest, slickest set of hands in hockey have needed little time to regain their magic touch.

Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk missed 6 1/2 weeks with a broken right hand, which still prevents him from taking most faceoffs. But it hasn’t stopped him from excelling at both ends of the ice, just like he was before the injury.

Datsyuk has five goals and nine points in six games since returning to the lineup.

“Seems like he’s right back into midseason form,” team captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “He just gives us that extra offensive threat that makes it harder to defend. When you have him and (Henrik) Zetterberg’s line going, it makes it harder for opponents to match up against him.”

Datsyuk sat out 19 games because of the injury. He’s still leading the team in points per game (1.23) and is second on the club, behind Zetterberg, with 48 points.

“Every game he’s just going to get more comfortable with his hand, but he’s played unbelievable, exactly what we expected when he came back,” forward Kris Draper said. “He does so much for us, in all different situations, and you can see he’s taken it to that level again.

“When he goes out and is playing the way he’s playing he makes us that much of a tougher team to play against.”

Datsyuk’s new linemates are being rewarded. Danny Cleary has three goals and five assists in the six games he has played with Datsyuk, and Jiri Hudler has two goals and six assists in those same six games.

“Well, it’s Pavel. Anybody who plays with Pavel has good chemistry,” Cleary said. “Try to give him the puck as much as we can and try to get open.”

Said goaltender Jimmy Howard: “He’s a great player, what can you say about him? He can do it all out there.”

Datsyuk is leading the team in faceoff percentage (56.1 percent) but has taken only five draws since his return.

“One of the things that’s unfortunate with Pavel is he can’t take faceoffs, so their line doesn’t have the puck as much as they would normally,” coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s our best faceoff guy, so it would be nice if that could happen here soon.”

Abdelkader relieved to end scoring drought

Justin Abdelkader’s goal during the second period of Thursday’s 6-2 victory in Tampa Bay ended his 40-game goal-scoring drought.

“It’s definitely a relief to get one,” Abdelkader said. “Sometimes you need a break like that to kind of loosen things up so you’re not pressing as much.”

Abdelkader had 19 shots on goal in the six games prior to Friday.

“I’ve been making a concerted effort to shoot the puck more,” he said. “You’ll get bounces. Sometimes the puck finds you, sometimes it doesn’t. Just got to keep shooting and going to the net.”

Salei refreshed after family time

Defenseman Ruslan Salei returned to the lineup Friday, after spending four days with his family in Newport Beach, Calif. Salei’s wife is expecting their third child in early March.

“I spent a good couple of days with family, it was really nice of (the Red Wings) to let me do that,” Salei said. “I haven’t skated, but I feel good, re-energized, well-rested.”

He replaced rookie Jakub Kindl on Friday. Kindl had played the past 16 games, 15 as a replacement for Brad Stuart.