ST. LOUIS, Missouri -- Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart sprawled out in the crease behind goalie Jimmy Howard and swatted a puck off the goal line late in the first period but the superb defensive effort wasn't enough to keep the St. Louis Blues from a 3-2 win over the Red Wings.
Stuart saved a sure goal, being careful not to close his hand on the puck as he knocked it away to keep the game scoreless.
Johan Franzen opened the game's scoring at 7:42 of the second period. Franzen carried the puck from the bottom of the right faceoff circle to the crease, driving at goalie Brian Elliot and lifting a shot from in close off his shoulder and into the net for a power play goal.
Alexander Steen would even things up on a St. Louis power play goal just 1:38 later. Jason Arnott won a draw in the right circle back to Steen, who blasted a shot from the high slot past Howard.
David Backes scored another power play goal just 45 seconds into the third period. Backes was left at the top of the crease by Jonathan Ericsson, who failed to cut off a pass from T.J. Oshie. All alone, Backes knocked the puck into the open side of the net.
Patrick Berglund rifled a shot past Howard at 2:38 of the period to make it 3-1 in favor of the Blues. Berglund was coming into the Detroit zone two-on-two but both defenders covered David Perron, leaving Berglund open to take a shot.
Jiri Hudler tipped a Danny Cleary shot past Elliot with 1:20 left in regulation - also a power play goal - but the Red Wings were unable to even things up.
Each team scored twice on the power play. Detroit had seven tries with the extra attacker, including an eight second power play in the second period and 1.5 seconds to close out the game. St. Louis had eight tries, also with an eight second power play.
Howard stopped 23 of 26 shots faced. Elliot made 27 saves on 29 shots.
After going 1-2-0 on their three-game road trip, the Red Wings return home to face the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday.
Notes: Detroit was without forward Valtteri Filppula, who suffered a deep cut in his leg Sunday in Colorado. Cory Emmerton returned to the lineup in his place... Mike Commodore was the healthy scratch on defense.
The Red Wings close out their three-game road trip in St. Louis tonight, looking to rebound from their first loss in seven games.
They'll have to do it without Valtteri Filppula, who will miss the game recovering from a deep cut to his leg suffered on Sunday night in Colorado. Filppula had hoped to play but couldn't find a way to make his skate comfortable enough to wear through the game. Cory Emmerton will jump back into the lineup in Filppula's spot, leaving Mike Commodore as the team's only scratch.
Jimmy Howard will return to the crease after his first game off in 18.
One piece of statistical bad news: The Red Wings haven't had one win or loss "in a row" this season. A five game winning streak was followed by six losses, then four wins, then two losses, then seven wins. A loss tonight would continue that trend and drop Detroit back below .500 on the road this season.
Game time is 7:30 PM. FSD has the TV locally with Versus broadcasting nationally.
I don't know what they're doing in St. Louis right now but the Band of Brothers theme brought a tear to my eye.
I miss Ken and Mick so much.
No way the Wings' power play should be that quiet against the Blues' PK. Bad sign early.
And Sheppard just makes this game sound weird.
Why does DirecTv always shaft us with the national broadcast? Since we pay all of this money, why can't the subscriber choose the feed they want to see? I know the answer to both questions but the situation irritates me because of the technicalities involved.
I echo your thoughts on the quiet PP early on.
Darren Helm always amazes me with his speed! I love how he passes to himself or, how he quickly recovers a take-away by an opponent.
Any bet takers on Kronner lighting up Stuart?
Not looking good on the PP are we?
Ooh, blown call. Ouch.
Glove save Stuart! Wow.
Glove save Stuart! Wow.
Impressive indeed!
That could have been much worse of a period. Awful call on Miller, Blues almost score. Maybe Stuart's great play will wake the Wings up. Don't want to waste something like that.
Two awful calls to start the second.
Jimmy with the massive stop when the Wings miss the guy coming out of the box. Dangerous mistake.
Great individual effort from the Mule. Drove to the net and roofed it.
Aww damn, hell of a shot by Steen.
That got boring to end the period. Yawn. No idea what to expect in the third.
Stupid penalty to start the third. Wings really in this one. Ugh.
"Backes gets position on Ericsson." No kidding.
Could get ugly fast. Wings need to wake the hell up.
Good news is that was a really good PK.
I'll be damned. Wings have some life here.
Brad Stuart
Credit: Clark Rasmussen
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