It seems to be taking a toll.
The superstar simply looked tired at times Thursday night, getting beat to loose pucks and not skating as hard or fast as usual, and the Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage with a 4-2 series-evening win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.
The Red Wings hoped to give Zetterberg some relief from needing to score, hit, play on power plays and kill penalties with the return of Pavel Datsyuk.
But the much-needed help did not arrive because Datsyuk was scratched because of a foot injury, sidelining him for the sixth straight game.
As the Penguins took the game overwith three goals in a 5 1/2-minute span of the second periodZetterberg helped them out on the final score.
Tyler Kennedy beat Zetterberg to a loose puck, Kennedy passed it to Chris Kunitz, who got it to Sidney Crosby before Kennedy finished the bang-bang-bang play by firing the puck to the back of the net for a 4-2 lead.
When Detroit beat Pittsburgh and hoisted the Stanley Cup last year, Zetterberg was its best player and won playoff MVP honors.
If the Red Wings are going to respond to losing their 2-0 lead in the series, the Swede will have to deliver again.
Game 5 is Saturday night in Detroit, and Game 6 is Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.