Imagine a world without cake, or chips, or virtually anything that could be remotely construed as junk food.

Imagine a world with almost no red meat, a world of unrelenting will, a world full of workouts and dedication. Imagine a world in which you are 38 and still competing with 25-year-olds in one of the most demanding sports on the planet. Imagine almost never taking a moment off -- never allowing yourself to do so. Imagine a world in which you are the master of your every move, a world in which you rarely if ever succumb to a lapse in willpower.

Welcome to the world of Igor Larionov -- the Red Wings' center who refuses to slow down.

"I try to avoid all of the junk food," Larionov said. "I can't cheat like that. Of course, I came from Russia, so I like the tea time; I like the tea and some little cookies. Sometimes maybe I have the English tea and a few cookies, but not often.

"Stuff like potato chips I eat maybe five times a year. I don't like eating much of that, and if I eat any of that I know I have to work out even harder. I don't want to get chubby."

Larionov is anything but chubby. He's listed at 5-feet-10, 170 pounds, but he's probably 5-8, 155. He practices self-discipline. He realizes the demands of his profession and the effects of two decades in the game. He lives each day with that truth in mind -- a life of pasta, chicken and fish.

He's in his 22nd season playing elite hockey, though you would never know it by looking at him. He exudes a schoolboy charm and could pass for his late 20s as he approaches 40. He is playing the game he loves the way he loves to play it. Age and years of punishment have not deterred him. He won't let them.

"You have to give up lots of things; that's how he stays in the best possible shape," said Larionov's former longtime teammate Slava Fetisov, who played until he was 40. "He watches everything he does. He is always working hard, on and off ice."

The payoff comes often, on nights when the Wings have played their third game in four nights and Larionov is the best player on the ice. The payoff has been almost constant this season, in which Larionov has performed like few thought he still could.

His 47 points are second on the team, trailing only captain Steve Yzerman. His 36 assists lead the Wings and, through Monday, tied him for 14th in the NHL. He has 22 points in the past 19 games, centering the Red Wings' most potent line, which includes countryman Slava Kozlov and right wing Martin Lapointe. Larionov has points in 15 of those 19 games -- his best stretch since leaving Russia for North America 10 years ago.

Larionov has surprised just about everyone -- everyone but himself.

"Why should I surprise myself?" Larionov said. "You can judge players on their consistency. My ultimate goal is to be consistent. You can't play one good game and then take a rest for five or six games. I'm trying to keep that level; you can't let yourself get down below that line.

"I guess it goes with my work ethic. I have to keep up with the young guys, and when you're getting older you need more sacrifices and have to always work harder."

That work ethic allows him to take only two weeks off after enduring an 82-game regular-season schedule and two-month playoff. Other players take off twice that time. That work ethic is defined by Larionov's intense workouts and the days when he eats only fruits and vegetables.

The work ethic is ever-present. It's there in his ability to devote himself to his work and home. To be a true family man, he's up at 6:30 every morning to get his girls to school while his wife tends to their 6-month-old boy. He's too devout in his professionalism to blame sluggish play on five or six hours of sleep.

That always has been Larionov's nature, but it was honed 10 years ago, Larionov's last season with the Red Army team back home. He suffered a broken ankle when he and Fetisov were fighting the communist system so they could leave for the NHL. Larionov's coach said the center would miss three months with the injury and was done for the season. "Everybody thinks he's not going to play for a while," said Fetisov, who retired from the Wings last summer. "It was a bad injury."

Larionov was approached at a practice by a doctor from the Red Army soccer team. The doctor insisted Larionov could be skating within a month. Larionov listened and followed the doctor's instructions.

"For almost two weeks I was fasting -- no food, just fluid," Larionov said. "I had to clean out my system, and after one week the swelling started to disappear because there was no food in my stomach and my body starts to eat away at the swollen area and it helped me big-time.

"It helps me to realize how you can achieve something when you sacrifice and you reach for the ultimate goal to come back. It was amazing."

Larionov was skating again in four weeks.

"Igor's a pretty smart guy, and he was smart to listen to something different," Fetisov said. "It was amazing the way he came back. He wants to play every game."

Ten seasons, nine of them in the NHL, have changed none of that. The diet, mind-set and production are still there. Larionov likely will have his most productive season since he scored 73 points in 73 games in 1995-96. His age isn't an issue. His hockey sense, vision, skating, stick-handling and passing continue to make everyone around him better.

"The way he's playing right now he can play another five years, easy," said Fetisov, now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils. "He's in incredible shape, and that professional effort is always there. I was watching a few games this year, and he plays better and better. He can still do the things he was able to do 20 years ago. It's just amazing."

Imagine being that kind of player. Imagine being that amazing.

Igor Larionov's highlights this season: •Has 22 points in last 19 games (six goals, 16 assists).
•Leads the Red Wings with 15.9 shooting percentage.
•Tied for 14th in NHL in assists with 36 (through Monday).
•Leads Detroit forwards with 13 power-play assists.
•Had an eight-game point-scoring streak during one stretch in February.