DETROIT, Michigan -- The Detroit Red Wings snapped their four-game losing streak Monday night, holding the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks without a goal and picking up a 1-0 win.
The win moves Detroit three points ahead of Anaheim in the Western Conference standings and into a tie for points with the Nashville Predators atop the Central Division. The Predators currently have two more wins than the Red Wings but Detroit holds the second tiebreaker over Nashville, head-to-head points.
Pavel Datsyuk scored the game's only goal at 4:50 of the second period. After winning a draw back to Mathieu Schneider, Datsyuk went to the front of the net. Schneider fired a shot from the blue line that was knocked down but not controlled at the top of the crease and Datsyuk picked it up, skating it into an open net.
Despite skating 6-on-4 with goaltender Jean-Sebastien Gigure on the bench and Schneider in the penalty box for the game's final minutes, Anaheim couldn't get on the board as the Red Wings held on for the win.
Detroit netminder Dominik Hasek made 25 saves to earn the shutout while Giguere stopped 27 of 28 shots against.
Neither team scored on the power play, with Detroit having three tries and Anaheim four.
The Red Wings will look to take sole possession of the Western Conference lead on Thursday when they visit Nashville. The Predators play once before that matchup, hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
Notes: Tomas Holmstrom suffered a minor hand injury on the scoring play. He left the ice but returned before the end of the period.
The Wings get a chance to snap their skid against the Western Conference's third-best team. Detroit still holds a one-point lead over Anaheim so the Ducks can leapfrog over them with a win but a Wings win gets them tied back up with Nashville on top of the division and the conference.
Detroit will be without Brett Lebda, out with a concussion after the, umm... "controversial" hit by Ville Nieminen on Saturday. He'll be replaced by Andreas Lilja.
Before the game, USA Hockey will honor Chris Chelios for becoming the all-time leader in games played among American players.
Pretty good first period, Wings controlled the first half and weathered the storm in the second half. Then we've got a bit of a scrum after the horn. Lilja's not a fighter and it showed but it was fun.
Wings still looking good. Big goal off the faceoff, glad to see Homer's not out for long.
And the Wings hold on to get the win. They're now tied for the NHL lead in points with Nashville but the Preds still have the lead in wins. Nashville hosts Edmonton in the second half of a home-and-home tomorrow and the Red Wings head there on Thursday.
Solid, solid play all around. Reminded me of one of the early-season defense-first wins that the Wings were getting.
What a night! A shutout and Chelly is honoured! What else can you ask for!
Correct me if I am wrong....if Detroit and Nashville are tied in points at the end of the season, doesn't Detroit have the tiebreaker? I know that on the current standings it is just most wins but I could of swore that it is most points obtained head-to-head.
The first tiebreaker is wins and the second is points in head-to-head competition. If the teams end up with both the same number of points and the same number of wins (which I personally think is unlikely but isn't impossible), the Red Wings will take the division as (no matter the finish on Thursday) they've taken more points against Nashville than Nashville has against Detroit. If the playoffs were to start today, Nashville would get the #1 spot because they have more wins.
Expert panel question from TSN prior to the game:
"Do you think Detroit wants to get to the #1 spot or would they prefer #4?"
Guess what the answer was.
Expert panel question from TSN prior to the game:
"Do you think Detroit wants to get to the #1 spot or would they prefer #4?"
Guess what the answer was.
Lots of talk about whether they would prefer to come into the playoffs as the underdog. Not something I believe at all but looking at the current standings, it could make for a potentially easier playoff run.
Can anyone tell me why Schneider has a Black eye? And what was up with Lilja dropping the gloves last night? He looked like a real fighter for about five seconds! Six games left and twelve points up for grabs, I don't think we need first place on this one
Can anyone tell me why Schneider has a Black eye? And what was up with Lilja dropping the gloves last night? He looked like a real fighter for about five seconds! Six games left and twelve points up for grabs, I don't think we need first place on this one
as funny as it sounds, lilja used to be a guy who woul dfight more often. he has taken on a couple tough guys i believe it was either godard or cairns for the islanders, and he has fought corson as well and did pretty good. what you saw against moen was a guy who hasnt fought in a real long time.
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