He had his first career hat trick on Friday night in a 5-1 victory that ended the Anaheim Ducks’ club-record 13-game home winning streak.

The Red Wings’ forward scored one goal in his first 28 games. But he has five in his past three games.

“It was really frustrating, but it’s part of the business,” said Abdelkader, who signed a four-year, $7.2 million contract on Sept. 14.

“I didn’t play anywhere during the lockout and I had a slow start. It took a little bit for me to get my legs underneath me and get my hands and everything going good. I think it took me about 10 games to do that – and I think I’m speaking for most of the guys who didn’t play during the lockout. But thankfully, we won’t have to go through it for another eight years.”

Detroit began a four-game road trip with the first of back-to-back games against the Pacific Division leaders, who beat the Red Wings 5-2 in their only other meeting on Feb. 15 at Joe Louis Arena. The teams meet again on Sunday at Honda Center.

Jimmy Howard allowed fewer than three goals for the eighth time in his past nine starts and had 33 saves. Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen each had a goal and two assists.

Abdelkader, who had three previous multi-goal games in his career, had the Red Wings’ second hat trick of the season at 12:46 of the second period when he beat Jonas Hiller to the stick side with a one-timer from the slot after Johan Franzen set him up for the second straight time.

“I was the beneficiary of some good plays by Johan Franzen and Pavs,” Abdelkader said. “It was just one of those games where you keep getting the puck and you just keep shooting. Sometimes the puck will follow you, and maybe that was the case in this game. But I give those guys a lot of credit.”

Coming off an emotional come-from-behind 4-2 home win over Chicago in a game featuring the teams with the top two records in the NHL, the Ducks couldn’t extend the momentum against Detroit, which turned several defensive mistakes into goals.

“I don’t know why this game would be a letdown,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I mean, we had a whole 24 hours in-between – and you’re playing the Detroit Red Wings, for crying out loud. I would be jacked up just so I didn’t hear their fans cheering. And in our building, that’s embarrassing enough. We want to remember this one and we don’t want it to happen again.”

The Red Wings chased goalie Viktor Fasth to the bench after he gave up Abdelkader’s second of the game at 3:06 of the second period to make it 3-1. Fasth, who faced just 11 shots, came in 6-0 at home while giving up just eight goals.

“I didn’t think Viktor was really sharp, so I said to myself: `If they score early in the second period, I was going to take him out and shake things up because it would still give us enough time to bounce back,” Boudreau said. “But tonight wasn’t going to be one of those nights to bounce back.”

Franzen was trying to set up Abdelkader again when his centering pass deflected into the net off the stick of Ducks rookie Emerson Etem with 4:43 to play. Franzen was credited with the goal and Abdelkader had an assist.

Teemu Selanne scored for the Ducks, whose only other loss at Honda Center was on Jan. 25 when Vancouver beat them 5-0 in the home opener. Their record dipped to 22-4-4, still three points behind the idle Blackhawks for the best record in the league.

“After the first goal they got, we were sort of dead in the water the rest of the game,” Boudreau said. “I thought the first 10 minutes, we were all over them. But we weren’t very good the last 50 minutes. We turned the puck over and then we didn’t forecheck, so that’s a bad combination.”

Ducks right wing Corey Perry returned to the lineup after serving a four-game suspension without pay for his elbow to the head of Minnesota’s Jason Zucker on March 12 – which earned him a 5-minute major for interference and a game misconduct.

It was Perry’s first game since signing an eight-year, $69 million contract extension on Monday, and the Ducks were 3-0-1 in his absence.

Howard got a break at 6:45 of the first period when a video replay overturned a goal by Etem, who was ruled to have directed the puck into the net with his left skate after knocking it out of the air with his stick below the crossbar.

But the Ducks opened the scoring at 11:31 when Selanne got a return pass in the slot from Kyle Palmieri and one-timed it past Howard’s outstretched left leg for his eighth goal of the season and 671st of his career.

Detroit tied it at 13:36 when Abdelkader carried the puck into the zone after a pass from Brendan Smith, stickhandled around Sheldon Souray in the right circle and cut in front of the net before stuffing the puck between Fasth’s pads. Howard was credited with an assist.

Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf was sent off for hooking Valtteri Filppula at 14:59 of the first and Datsyuk capitalized 44 seconds later, backhanding his 10th goal of the season and 250th of his career into a wide-open net after Fasth made the save on Damien Brunner’s short wrist shot.

Abdelkader made it 3-1 at 3:06 of the second period, getting a cross-ice pass in the right circle from Franzen and beating Fasth to the short side with a wrist shot over the goalie’s glove.

“You can’t get too high or too low in this league. I mean, obviously we were happy about what happened Wednesday, but we were ready to go tonight, I thought,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “We just got on the wrong side of a couple of bounces, and before you know it, we’re down three goals. You give that team just a little bit of light, and they’re so good lifting sticks and knocking pucks down that they’ll make you pay for it.”

NOTES: Abdelkader had eight goals and 14 assists in 81 games last season for Detroit. … Datsyuk earned his 500th NHL assist on Abdelkader’s third goal. … Datsyuk extended the Red Wings’ streak of consecutive games with a power-play goal to six. … The Ducks, who came in with the league’s second-best power play, are 1 for 21 over their past nine games. … The Ducks’ remaining schedule includes back-to-back sets against San Jose and Edmonton, and a stretch of three consecutive games against Dallas.

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Devin Setoguchi had two goals, Niklas Backstrom made 36 saves and the streaking Wild beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Wednesday night.

“I give our guys a lot of credit. … I felt tired today,” said Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, whose team won in Colorado on Saturday night and in Vancouver on Monday night.

Kyle Brodziak, Mikko Koivu also scored for Minnesota, which won its fourth straight. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had two assists.

“They’re going to get their shots,” Backstrom said. “We did a great job of keeping them to the outside and we did a good job of clearing rebounds.”

Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored for Detroit.

“We spent a lot of the night chasing the game,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We knew what kind of game it was going to be before we started. We knew they were going to play tight.”

Minnesota led 1-0 after the first period despite being outshot 17-5.

“We knew we were going to come out a little sluggish,” Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said. “Backy kept us in it and we came out in the second period and played the way we should’ve.”

Setoguchi opened the scoring 2:04 into the game when he swept in a shot from the bottom of the right circle for his 10th goal. Setoguchi’s second goal of the game came on the power play with 2:45 left in the second period, putting in a rebound to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead.

Brodziak’s power-play goal 3:51 into the second period made it 2-0 when he put in a one-timer shot from the edge of the crease, his fifth goal, off a pass from Jared Spurgeon.

Nyquist put Detroit on the scoreboard 9:09 into the middle period with his first goal. He capitalized on Spurgeon’s turnover at the Red Wings’ blue line for his first goal of the season, on a breakaway.

“It was a broken play at the blue line, I don’t know what happened,” Nyquist said. “I got it behind the D man and I came skating in all alone. I tried to make a move and fortunately, it went in.”

Koivu restored the Wild’s two-goal lead with 9:11 left in the second on spin-around shot from the high slot, which went in off Jimmy Howard’s glove for Koivu’s seventh goal.

Setoguchi got his second goal of the night, with 2:45 left in the second by putting in Dany Heatley’s rebound.

“That’s what you need. We’ve just got everybody contributing right now,” Yeo said. “Getting it from the power play, getting it from different lines.”

Miller got his third goal of the season, on the power play, in the final minute to cap the scoring.

An apparent goal by Detroit’s Jordin Tootoo 7:30 into the first period was waved off because of a high stick call. But replays showed the puck went off the glove of Heatley instead of the stick of Miller.

Notes: Detroit RW Patrick Eaves missed the game with a sore cheekbone. The Red Wings recalled Nyquist, a center, from their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. … Minnesota C Mike Rupp and D Tom Gilbert both missed their second games with lower-body injuries.

Zetterberg scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday night.

“I didn’t even think about it,” Zetterberg said of his slump.

Zetterberg broke out with his first goals in 11 games, dating to the Red Wings’ 8-3 rout of Vancouver in Detroit on Feb. 24.

While the goals haven’t been coming lately, Zetterberg has been racking up the assists and averaging a point per game.

“I think you in Canada are more stat freaks than we are in the States,” Zetterberg said. “So it’s nice to get it going here where you notice it.”

It was equally important for the Red Wings to win as Detroit has found itself in the unusual position of battling for a playoff spot.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said. “Hopefully, we can find a little bit more of an even keel out there now instead of some peaks and valleys.”

Justin Abdelkader also scored twice for the Red Wings (14-10-5), Daniel Cleary had a goal, and Pavel Datsyuk added three assists to help Detroit win on the road for the second time in in two nights.

“I think that was the first time in my career that I scored two goals and (the puck) didn’t even touch my stick,” said Abdelkader, who was credited with goals that went in off his skate and chest.

Abdelkader considered himself fortunate that he was able to play after he sustained a cut on his foot in Edmonton on Friday. The cut required eight to 10 stitches to close.

“I just got my skate fixed [Saturday] morning, and came back for the game and didn’t know if I would be able to play or not,” he said.

Alex Burrows scored both of Vancouver’s goals. His first, which came just 6 seconds in, was the fastest opening goal in Canucks history.

Zetterberg made amends for losing the opening faceoff to Henrik Sedinbefore Burrows’ quick goal.

“We wanted [Henrik Sedin's] line to play against Zetterberg, and they did a real good job in the first period and part way through the second,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. “In the third period they had Datsyuk going out there, and Hank had a tough time against that line.

“Their top players were obviously a little bit better than ours.”

Vancouver, which outshot Detroit 35-26, allowed one power-play goal in three chances, but the Canucks were 0-for-6 on their advantages.

The Canucks lost for the first time in three games.

Burrows started the scoring quickly when he took a cross-ice pass fromDaniel Sedin and fired a shot just inside the post from the top of the right circle. The goal was Burrows’ first in 11 games.

Burrows broke Trevor Linden’s record for Vancouver’s fastest first goal — 9 seconds — set against Anaheim on Jan. 16, 1994. It was the fourth fastest in NHL history.

But the Canucks generated few dangerous opportunities afterward, despite outshooting Detroit by a wide margin in the first 30 minutes.

“It was a tough start, especially in this building,” Howard said. “You don’t want to give them momentum like that, because it can get pretty loud really quick.

“So I thought we did a great job in responding and not letting it get us down.”

Abdelkader made it 1-1 at 6:08 of the first period when Pavel Datsyuk’s pass went in off his skate.

Burrows had another excellent scoring chance with just under nine minutes left in the first, but Howard came across the crease and made a diving glove save as the Vancouver winger one-timed Jannik Hansen’s pass from the opposite post.

The Canucks lost forward David Booth to a leg injury in the final minute of the first period as he raced to the puck in the Detroit corner to beat an icing call. He got to the puck in time, but he was checked into the boards and wound up under a pile of players.

He couldn’t put any weight on his left leg as he glided off the ice and didn’t return for the start of the second period.

The Canucks ran into penalty trouble in the second period when Burrows’ high-sticking infraction nullified a Vancouver power play. Max Lapierre’s subsequent tripping penalty gave the Red Wings a two-man advantage for 1:16.

With Lapierre still in the box, Zetterberg fired in a pass from Datsyuk.

Jannik Hansen had a chance to draw the Canucks even on a penalty shot about three minutes later, after he was hauled down on a breakaway by Abdelkader. But he clanked a shot off the corner of the post and crossbar.

Zetterberg increased Detroit’s lead to 3-1 just 1:20 into the third when he whipped in Valtteri Filppula’s pass.

Cleary widened the gap with a wrist shot from the slot about four and a half minutes later. He also scored for the first time since the previous game with the Canucks, thanks to some more nice passing from Joakim Anderssonand Fabien Brunner.

Vancouver had a two-man advantage for 1:20 but couldn’t get any closer.

Abdelkader scored his second goal of the night at 14:44 of the third period as he jammed the puck past Roberto Luongo. The goal was awarded after it appeared Luongo had kept the puck out, but video showed it crossed the goal line.

Burrows scored his second goal as he backhanded in his own rebound with just under three minutes remaining. The goals were his first in 11 games.

They’re hoping Roberto Luongo can do a better job of keeping the visiting Detroit Red Wings from scoring Saturday night as he gets an opportunity to redeem himself from a rough performance last month.

Vancouver (13-7-6) has won two straight after a 0-2-2 stretch and set a season best for goals scored in a 7-4 win over Nashville on Thursday. It had scored eight non-shootout goals over its previous five games combined.

Andrew Ebbett and Jannik Hansen each had a goal and two assists while linemate Mason Raymond added a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who got 29 saves from Luongo.

Henrik Sedin also scored on a penalty shot, giving him seven goals in his last 13 games after going scoreless in his first 13.

“That line (of Ebbett, Hansen and Raymond) was really, really strong,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “They were strong on the puck. Jannik can chase that puck and not get looked off like any of the top guys in the league.”

Hansen registered his first career three-point game and has four goals and five assists over his last seven.

“It just happens to be going in the right direction right now,” Hansen said. “For some reason, we found a way to score a couple more than we normally do.”

The Canucks hope their power-play unit can add a goal or two as well. They’ve gone 0 for 24 over the last 10 games with the man advantage, and Vigneault said they’ll need to improve that aspect of their game moving forward.

“Our power play sometimes is like how we play. We play really well but sometimes don’t get the results we’re expecting to get,” Vigneault said. “It has gotten some good looks, (but) at the end of the day, we’ve got to get it done.”

Not much went right for Vancouver in its first meeting with Detroit. Luongo gave up each goal during an 8-3 loss Feb. 24, including five unanswered over the final 24:50.

Damien Brunner had two goals and two assists, Joakim Andersson scored twice while Niklas Kronwall and Henrik Zetterberg each added a goal and two assists for the Red Wings (13-10-5).

Despite that performance and Luongo’s 3.28 GAA in his last 10 starts versus Detroit, Vigneault is confident going with Luongo again.

“He’s been good,” Vigneault said of Luongo, who has a 2.22 GAA this season. “I just feel right now it’s the right call to make.”

He’ll face a Red Wings team that ended a three-game losing streak with Friday’s 3-2 overtime win at Edmonton, where Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall scored in regulation before Pavel Datsyuk’s OT goal.

It marked Datsyuk’s first goal since Feb. 19 for Detroit, which is just 4-6-2 on the road.

“We’re having a tough time on the road,” Datsyuk told the team’s official website. “But now I hope we’re unstoppable like a red machine.”

Jimmy Howard made 30 saves Friday, meaning backup Jonas Gustavsson could get the start versus the Canucks in the second of a back-to-back set.

Gustavsson has lost each of his two career starts versus Vancouver while posting a 4.06 GAA.

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Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall scored in regulation for Detroit, and Jimmy Howard had 30 saves.
Taylor Jall and Sam Gagner had the Oilers’ goals, and Devan Dubnyk finished with 25 saves.

On the game-winner, Datsyuk made a nice move to get past defender Jeff Petry and blasted a shot past Dubnyk.

Kronwall got credit for the tying goal with 5:53 to go in the third when Petry knocked the puck into the Oilers’ net.

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The Detroit Red Wings, meanwhile, are still trying to stop their own skid as they visit the Oilers on Friday night in hopes of continuing their recent dominance in this series.

Edmonton (10-11-5) went 4-8-3 while Shawn Horcoff missed 15 games with a broken knuckle. Starting a franchise-record nine-game road trip without Horcoff didn’t help, and the Oilers lost five straight in the middle of that trek.

Horcoff returned for the final two games of the trip and scored a goal in each to help his club to back-to-back wins – including one at NHL-leading Chicago on Sunday. Wearing extra reinforcement in his glove to protect his hand, Horcoff has twice as many goals in the last two games as he had in seven contests before the injury.

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The NHL map is finally in order with Detroit and Columbus heading east, and Winnipeg moving west.

“We’re thrilled, absolutely thrilled,” Blue Jackets executive John Davidson said on a telephone conference call Thursday, shortly after the realignment plan was approved in a vote by the league’s board of governors. “We tend to use the (term) common sense around here. This seems to make a lot of common sense.”

The new format goes into effect next season, and will feature two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference, including the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. The Jets will now be part of a Western Conference that’s made up of two seven-team divisions.

It’s a plan that Commissioner Gary Bettman called “fan-friendly,” because it aligns teams by divisions that are mostly in the same time zones. And Bettman noted it will re-establish numerous rivalries by geography and tradition.

Detroit returns to the East in a yet-to-be named division that will feature three other Original Six franchises, Toronto, Boston and Montreal. And Winnipeg is now part of a central-based division after having spent the past two years playing in the Southeast.

“We think this is a common sense practical realignment,” Bettman said.

Without providing details, Bettman said the vote conducted by email was not unanimous, but “well in excess” of the two-thirds majority required.

The new format also creates changes in determining the 16-team playoff field. The top three teams in each division will qualify for the postseason. The next two teams with the best records in each conference will then earn wild-card berths.

That will make it more difficult for teams to qualify in the East, because it will have two more clubs than the West competing for eight berths.

The NHL Players’ Association had already signed off on the realignment format, which will be in place for at least three seasons.

The Atlanta Thrashers’ relocation to Winnipeg two years ago helped precipitate the need for realignment.

All three teams making the switch will benefit, because they will no longer have to make extended road trips outside of their time zones.

“As much as we enjoyed those trips down south, I think our team and our coaches are very pleased to know we’re going to be playing in a Central time zone,” Jets chairman Mark Chipman said. “I think it’s very exciting for us as an organization and our fans to be geographically located where we ought to be.”

The Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild should also benefit from the change. They will now be in a division mostly made up of teams that play in the same Central time zone.

Stars CEO Jim Lites said the switch from the Pacific Division will benefit his players and fans.

Lites said TV ratings dropped by as much as 60 percent because of the later start times when the Stars played against their division rivals on the West Coast. He also noted that the team lost between seven and 10 practice days a season because of travel.

“No one is a bigger beneficiary in this than the Dallas Stars,” Lites said.

It’s no different for Columbus.

“I’ve done a lot of town hall conferences with our fans here, and 99.999 (percent) of our fans really wanted to desperately be in the East,” Davidson said. “So when you get out the ledger sheet and you go pros and cons, I don’t think there is anything on the negative side. This is all positive.”

All teams will play each other both home and away at least once each season. And teams will play division rivals at least four times a season.

With Detroit and Toronto set to be in the same division, it revived questions of whether the two will meet in the league’s annual Winter Classic next season. The two were supposed to play at Michigan Stadium on Jan. 1 this season, before that game was wiped out as a result of the NHL lockout.

Bettman hinted of that being a possibility.

“We think the notion of having Toronto play Detroit at the ‘Big House’ is a good thing to do,” Bettman said. “Beyond that, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

On other issues, Bettman said talks are ongoing with Olympic officials regarding whether the NHL will participate in next year’s Winter Games at Sochi, Russia. Bettman said he had talks this week, and that league executives Bill Daly and John Collins have traveled to Sochi.

Regarding the Phoenix Coyotes ownership search, Bettman said the league’s working with a number of groups who have expressed interest in purchasing the franchise since Greg Jamison’s bid fell through two months ago.

“We are hoping to — in the not too distant future — get one of them to the place where we can move the transaction forward,” Bettman said.

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The league announced Thursday that its board of governors approved a realignment plan that will go into effect next season. The new format will feature two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference, and two seven-team divisions in the West.

That means Detroit and Columbus will switch conferences by moving into the East, while the Winnipeg Jets will move into the Western Conference.

Realignment will also create changes in determining the 16-team playoff field. The top three teams in each division will qualify for the postseason. The next two teams with the best records in each conference will then earn wild-card berths.

That will make it more difficult for teams to qualify in the East, because it will have two more clubs than the West competing for eight berths.

The NHL Players’ Association had already signed off on the realignment format, which will be in place for at least three seasons.

“The new alignment will place several clubs in more geographically appropriate groupings, and will intensify already-fierce rivalries throughout the league,” the NHL said.

The changes will also make it easier on team’s travel schedules, with Detroit and Columbus no longer having to make numerous and extended trips outside the Eastern time zone. The Jets will also gain some normalcy in travel after spending the past two seasons as members of the Southeast Division.

The Atlanta Thrashers’ relocation to Winnipeg two years ago helped precipitate the need for realignment.

Detroit will be placed in a division with Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

Columbus will now contend with Carolina, New Jersey, the Islanders, Rangers, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Winnipeg will join a division featuring Chicago, Colorado Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville and St. Louis.

The switch also allows both Minnesota and Colorado to move from the Northwest Division and into a more centrally based division.

All teams will play each other both home and away at least once each season. And teams will play division rivals at least four times a season.

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1. There is lots of talk about how the Red Wings are lacking defensively. Actually, their biggest problem is scoring goals. They had plenty of scoring opportunities in their 5-2 loss at Calgary Wednesday, but just don’t have the scoring touch.

2. Goalie Jimmy Howard can’t play every game, and when he doesn’t, the Red Wings need Jonas Gustavsson to perform much better than he did vs. the Flames.

3. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are the Red Wings’ resident star players. It is time for them to impose their will on this season before it is too late and the Red Wings miss the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades.

The veteran goalie made 36 saves, and Lee Stempniak scored the winning goal and added an assist as the Flames earned a much-needed 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.

“I played way better than I played the last two games, and it was nice,” said Kiprusoff, who was at his best in the first period as the Flames took a 2-1 lead despite being outshot 15-6.

Calgary was outscored 13-3 on its trip, losing once to Anaheim and twice to Los Angeles. Kiprusoff started the first two games and allowed 10 goals on 46 shots. He was pulled in the third period of the first loss to the Kings.

“Kipper’s an All-Star goalie, he’s the backbone of our hockey club, and he obviously kept us in there tonight and gave us an opportunity to win it in the third,” said Flames forward Curtis Glencross, who also had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after missing two games with a sore wrist. “Big win for us.

“Nice to come back home after a disappointing road trip, it was a big bounce-back game for us.”

Stempniak broke a 2-2 tie 5:37 into the third on a beautiful set up from Glencross, who wheeled deep into the Detroit zone and zipped a pass to the uncovered Stempniak in the slot for his seventh goal of the season.

“They were all puck watching, and I saw Stemper out of the corner of my eye. It had to get through a few bodies and sticks to get through to him, but luckily it did,” said Glencross, who added his ninth goal at 9:12, capitalizing on Valterri Filppula’s turnover along the side boards.

Blake Comeau followed with a goal 48 seconds later to make it 5-2.

“We can’t just keep giving the puck away, it doesn’t work like that. We’re not getting anywhere,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “If we want to get into the playoffs, we have to start fixing this right now, and it’s up to all of us in here.

“We all have to be better and we know it. It’s about time we fixed that.”

Alex Tanguay and Jay Bouwmeester also scored for Calgary (10-11-4), which won its fifth in a row at home.

Kronwall and Filppula scored for Detroit (12-10-5), which is in seventh place in the Western Conference.

“That was a disturbing loss, because all we had to do was continue to do things right, and you win the game,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “Whether we don’t have the maturity as a group, or the stick-to-it-ness, there is no sense in what happened here.”

Detroit goalie Jonas Gustavsson struggled in his end.

“We got that big goal end of the second and we were feeling good coming into the third,” Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey said. “Then you make a few mistakes and they capitalize. After that, it’s hard to get it back.”

The Red Wings held a 38-22 edge in shots.

After Calgary took the lead in the first period, Detroit tied it 2-2 at 16:39 of the second. Quincey’s long wrist shot on a power play was stopped, but Filppula was there to put the rebound past Kiprusoff. The Red Wings snapped an 0-for-37 mark in road power plays.

Also earning an assist was 23-year-old rookie Gustav Nyquist, who was recalled Tuesday from Grand Rapids where he as the AHL’s leading scorer with 23 goals and 37 assists.

Detroit had amassed 69 minutes, 20 seconds in road power-play time before that goal. It was the worst start to a season since the 1928-29 Detroit Cougars, who played a 44-game schedule, failed to score a road power-play goal the entire campaign.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead 3:20 into the game when Kronwall sent a slap shot past Kiprusoff.

Calgary tied it at 5:55 of the first period on a power play. Tanguay took a pass from Mike Cammalleri and made a deke to his forehand before whipping a shot into the top corner.

The Flames took a 2-1 lead at 9:52 on a lucky bounce as Bouwmeester’s shot rebounded in off the skate of Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl.

Stempniak said it’s not too late for Calgary to get on a roll and climb back into playoff contention in the West.

“I know we haven’t done it yet this year, but we have the team to do it,” he said. “Everyone knows the situation now, you just have to look at the standings and know it’s really desperate times for us. We can’t really afford to lose games, especially games in a row.”

NOTES: The Red Wings, who have lost three straight, continue their three-game road trip through Western Canada on Friday in Edmonton. … Kiprusoff improved to 4-5-2, while Gustavsson dropped to 1-2-1. … Bouwmeester’s goal was his fifth of the season, matching his best output since coming to Calgary in the 2009-10 season. His career high is 15, which he reached twice in Florida. … RW Jordin Tootoo was a healthy scratch for the Red Wings. … Detroit C Cory Emmerton played in his 100th NHL game.

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Gretzky made a visit on the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday, and amid telling classic stories about things such as trying to watch Larry Bird play basketball, he got a little serious about the NHL game today. All in all, Gretzky has been supportive of the growth and adaption of the game, not holding on too tightly to his era. But there’s one thing he doesn’t like in today’s game: the sticks.

When Gretzky was tearing up the NHL, players were using old-fashioned shafts. You know, ones actually made of wood. But you don’t see those in the NHL any more but for very rare occasions. It’s all about composite shafts and what have you.

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This may be hypocritical, but I am glad the Red Wings do not have cheerleaders or hot ice girls at Joe Louis Arena. There is something about hockey tradition and ice girls that don’t mesh with me. However if you are going to have them you do need a calendar to expose the squad to the most people. The Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings Ice Crew have a calendar and it must be pretty sweet, because the pictures that were rejected certainly are top notch.

Click HERE for all the Ice Girls Photos

Derick Brassard and R.J. Umberger had goals in regulation, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves through overtime for Columbus, which has won five straight. The Blue Jackets topped the Red Wings 3-0 in Columbus on Saturday.

The Blue Jackets are 5-0-2 in their last seven games after getting only 12 points in their first 19.

Jakub Kindl and Johan Franzen scored for Detroit in regulation, and Jimmy Howard stopped 19 shots. Pavel Datsyuk scored the Red Wings’ only goal in the shootout.

Franzen tied the game at 2 with a 5-on-3, power-play goal 25 seconds into the third period.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

After earning their first season-series victory over the Detroit Red Wings in franchise history, visiting Columbus seeks a fifth consecutive win in the conclusion of a home-and-home set Sunday night.

Not much was expected in 2013 from a Columbus team that has made just one playoff appearance in its 11-season existence and traded disgruntled franchise cornerstone Rick Nash to the New York Rangers prior to the lockout.

After earning just 12 points in their first 19 games, the Blue Jackets (9-12-4) have won four straight and earned points in each of their last six after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Detroit.

Given the bunched-up Western Conference standings, a playoff appearance certainly is attainable if coach Todd Richards’ team can stay hot through the second half of the season.

“You can sense it in the locker room,” Richards said. “Guys are sitting up taller in their stalls, their heads are high, and they should be. To win four in a row and have six (straight) games getting points, that’s not easy to do at this level.

“But we still have a long way to go.”

Columbus, which received goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson on Saturday, improved to 3-0-1 versus Detroit this season and is on the verge of its first five-game winning streak since Nov. 17-24, 2010.

“We’ve played them four times and found a way to get points in every game,” Richards said. “It’s very satisfying in how we played, but we’re going to have to move on really quickly, too. It’s tough to win back-to-back games.”

The Blue Jackets are just 1-4-0 in the second half of such situations, and Richards doesn’t expect things to get any easier in Sunday’s rematch.

“We’re playing in their building and they’re going to be a very motivated group,” Richards said. “They’ve probably seen our best in all of these games.”

The Red Wings (12-9-4) had gone 5-1-1 in their previous seven before Saturday’s defeat and had allowed more than two goals only once during that stretch.

Coach Mike Babcock hopes his team is more prepared Sunday after being shut out for the first time since a season-opening 6-0 loss at St. Louis on Jan. 19.

“Was that mental prep? Maybe the coach wasn’t getting his message across? Did we practice too hard yesterday?” Babcock said. “I don’t know a lot of the answers, but the bottom line is we weren’t mentally prepared to play hard enough and long enough to have success.”

Detroit was doomed by turnovers, which Pavel Datsyuk said need to be minimized in this contest.

“All their three goals were kind of gifts,” Datsyuk said. “They really capitalized on it. Sometimes you make mistakes but today we did a little too many.”

Jimmy Howard will be back in net after Jonas Gustavsson made 21 saves Saturday. Howard is 4-1-1 with a 1.15 goals-against average over his last six starts, but he’s 1-2-0 with a 3.25 GAA this season versus Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his first career shutout Saturday, and Steve Mason, who stopped 32 shots in a 4-2 win over the Red Wings on Feb. 2, could be in net to conclude this home-and-home set.

Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov – second on the team with six goals – was a late scratch with a lower-body injury Saturday, and Richards said he won’t make the trip to Detroit.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Sergei Bobrovsky had 29 saves in his first career shutout, and Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno took advantage of Detroit giveaways to score goals in leading the suddenly hot Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-0 victory over the Red Wings on Saturday.

Jack Johnson also picked up a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets, who have won four in a row and earned points in their last six.

For a change they didn’t work overtime. They had gone to extra time in their previous five games.

Bobrovsky, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia last summer, picked up his first career shutout in his 99th NHL game and 16th with Columbus. He was at his best in the third period, stopping difficult shots by Niklas Kronwall, Drew Miller and Pavel Datsyuk.

The Blue Jackets improved to 3-0-1 against the Red Wings this season.

Already ahead 1-0, the Blue Jackets took a three-goal lead – with help from the Red Wings in each case – by scoring twice in a span of 83 seconds in the second period.

After Datsyuk was penalized for delay of game, R.J. Umberger dug the puck off the wall to get it to Derick Brassard, who skated to the high slot and left a drop pass for Johnson. The University of Michigan grad’s hard one-timer from the top of the right circle was his third of the year.

Before the crowd of 17,957 – with a liberal sprinkling of Red Wings fans – really settled down, it was 3-0.

In a scene similar to what took place in the first period, Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey mishandled a puck along the back boards, with a pass glancing off his right skate. Ryan Johansen collected it and whipped a quick pass to Foligno at the right doorstep, who jammed it in to become the third Blue Jackets player to score his third goal on the day.

The Blue Jackets took advantage of an ugly turnover by Kronwall to open the scoring.

Kronwall was behind his own net when his clearing pass was intercepted by Matt Calvert. Calvert circled and fed Atkinson who was all alone crashing the net.

Jonas Gustavsson got a rare start in place of Jimmy Howard for the Red Wings. Gustavsson, who made 21 saves, was playing in only his fourth game this season.

The Red Wings’ power-plays away from home continued. They were 0 for 3 with a man advantage.

According to STATS, the Red Wings’ streak of futility on the road power play is the fourth-worst to start a season since 1987-88. The Minnesota Wild, in their inaugural season in 2000-2001, failed to score on their first 47 power plays. The Atlanta Thrashers were 0 for 42 in 2001-2 and the New York Rangers in 1999-2000 were 0 for 39.

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The Blue Jackets have won a season-high three straight and have enjoyed success this season against the Red Wings heading into Saturday’s matchup in Columbus.

These Central Division rivals complete their season series this weekend with a home-and-home set, with Sunday’s rematch set for Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings (12-8-4) enter on a 5-1-1 roll that has seen them move into second place in the division behind Chicago as they seek a 22nd straight playoff berth.

“We’re 5-1-1 in the last seven and it feels like we haven’t moved at all,” center Cory Emmerton said. “One day we’re in fourth and the next day we’re in 10th, so every game is huge.”

No Western Conference team has fewer points than the 20 for Columbus (8-12-4), but the club has turned in its best hockey during this run. The Blue Jackets have played five straight games that have gone to overtime and look to cap a perfect four-game homestand after Matt Calvert’s game-winner in Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Vancouver.

Ten of Columbus’ last 11 games have been decided by one goal. The exception was a 5-3 loss at Phoenix on Feb. 16 in which the Coyotes scored into an empty net for the final tally.

“At the start of the year, we were in a lot of one-goal losses,” Calvert said. “It didn’t go our way and you could blame it on bounces but at the end of the night, you’ve just got to keep on going.”

The Blue Jackets have won twice and lost in a shootout in their three meetings with the Red Wings this season.

“Our next two games are against a team that has five out of six points against us,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “They’ve got an overtime loss against us and they beat us twice. Columbus won again (Thursday) so we’re going to have our hands full, and we’ve got to get prepared.”

The Red Wings have yielded more than two goals just once in their last seven games. Jimmy Howard is 4-1-1 with a 1.15 goals-against average in six starts in that span, making 22 saves Thursday for his second shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over Edmonton.

“I think we’re playing really well as a team right now. We’re doing a lot of great things,” said Howard, who has a 3.25 GAA in three starts against Columbus this season. “When you work hard and you pay attention to detail, good things happen.”

Detroit is 0 for 16 on the power play against Columbus this season, 0 for 33 on the road and 0 for 10 in its last five games. The Blue Jackets have killed off all 18 penalties in their last eight contests.

Columbus has four skaters tied for the team lead with three points against Detroit this season, but two won’t be available. James Wisniewski is out with a broken foot while Derek Dorsett sustained a broken clavicle Thursday and will likely be lost for the season.

Detroit’s top four goal scorers are in the midst of droughts. Damien Brunner, Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Cleary haven’t scored in five consecutive games, and Pavel Datsyuk has gone eight straight without a goal.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL moved a step closer to realignment Thursday as the players’ association approved a proposed plan that is set to go into effect next season.

Now that the league has gotten the go-ahead from union chief Donald Fehr, the NHL will only need to get approval from team owners to put it in place.

“The NHL Players’ Association confirmed to us today that it has consented to a revised plan for realignment, effective for the 2013-14 season,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “Our next step will be to bring the proposed plan for realignment to the NHL board of governors for its consideration.”

Fehr signed off on the plan after discussions with the union’s executive board and said the realignment issue will be “re-evaluated following the 2014-15 season.”

No official details of the changes have been released by the NHL, but it is widely believed that teams such as Detroit and Columbus will be put into more travel-friendly divisions in the Eastern time zone, and the Winnipeg Jets — formerly the Atlanta Thrashers — will leave the Southeast Division for a spot in the Western Conference.

“It’s awesome,” Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said. “These West Coast swings, not only do they take a lot out on us and you guys, but also out on our fans, having to stay up and watch us late at night. To be able to play a lot more in the Eastern time zone is going to be very beneficial.”

Up until now, there has been an even split of teams with 15 in each conference. Under the new plan, the East will have 16 clubs in it — making playoff qualification a bit tougher.

The two divisions out West will contain seven teams each. The East divisions will both contain eight.

Each conference will still have eight teams in the playoffs but the setup will be slightly different.

Instead of the current system, under which the top eight teams in each conference make the playoffs, the new plan will award spots to the top three teams in each division along with the next two teams with the best records as wild cards.

The new Atlantic Division in the East will be comprised of Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York’s Rangers and Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington. The Central Division will contain Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

“It will definitely be a change,” Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader said. “The benefit will be less travel. The disadvantage is 16 teams in the East — so harder for a playoff spot. It’s one of those things that you kind of take the pros and the cons, and it’s part of the deal.

“It’s something that’ll be different, so we’ll give it a couple years and see how it goes.”

Out West, the new Midwest Division will feature Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg. The Pacific Division will be made up of Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver.

___

AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report from Detroit.

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DETROIT (AP) — Jimmy Howard made 22 saves, and Jakub Kindl and Cory Emmerton scored in the second period to lift the Detroit Red Wings over the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Thursday night.

Justin Abdelkader’s empty-net goal put the game out of reach.

Howard made 36 saves in a win Tuesday against Colorado, but coach Mike Babcock wasn’t all that impressed with his team’s overall performance that night. The Red Wings were sharper defensively against Edmonton and took control in the second period, when they outshot the Oilers 15-7.

Detroit is 10-0-1 in its last 11 regular-season games against Edmonton.

The Red Wings have gone five games without allowing a goal in the first or second period, and the Oilers didn’t do much to threaten that streak. Edmonton is 0-3-1 in its last four games.

After a scoreless first period — a shot off the crossbar by Detroit’s Kyle Quincey was the only noteworthy moment — the Red Wings looked a bit more energized in the second.

Jordin Tootoo fought with Edmonton’s Mike Brown early in the period, and Kindl opened the scoring less than a minute later. Kindl was caught between two Oilers when he managed a shot that slipped through goalie Devan Dubnyk and trickled across the line for a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings added another goal after some sustained pressure when Emmerton took a pass from Drew Miller and beat Dubnyk high to the stick side from the slot.

Howard had to make a couple of terrific saves against the Avalanche and came within 90 seconds of a shutout in that game. He wasn’t tested as much by Edmonton, even after the Oilers pulled their goalie with more than 2 minutes remaining.

Abdelkader’s empty-netter was his first goal of the season.

NOTES: Detroit had 28 shots on goal. … The Red Wings scored more than two goals for the first time in five games, but they’ve lost only once in regulation during that span. … Edmonton’s Taylor Hall was called for high-sticking 56 seconds into the game — and that was the only power play for either team.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

With the NHL trade deadline being less than a month away it’s time for Wings fans to start thinking trade. Or is it? I had a chance to talk to Detroit GM Ken Holland about his team, NHL realignment and of course the deadline — and by the vibe I received it seems like the Wings might be staying pat with what they already have. In a season where parity seems to rule, Holland made it quite clear that the Wings would have to put together a run and really separate themselves from the competition in order to be true buyers at the deadline. Plus there would have to enough teams that fall completely out as well so the Wings could have a partner to trade with. I’m not sure either will happen.

Below are some of the more interesting comments of the interview.

Holland on the parity in the game right now:
“In this NHL every game counts, every 2 points is critical and I think what’s going on now is going to be going on in the last week of the regular season. I have said all along that it is going to be a photo finish to make the playoffs and it’s going to be a photo finish to miss the playoffs. It’s great for hockey fans, you wake up every day, and I think there are 6 teams in the West with 24 points this morning. I think it’s exciting, every 2 points is critical and the second half of the season, it’s like a playoff game every single night.”

Holland on the trade deadline and if the Wings are thinking about being buyers or sellers:
“In order to be a buyer you got to be in the playoffs, it’ doesn’t make much sense to be 3, 4, 5 points out of the 8 hole and think you’re going to throw some assets at a team that might not make the playoffs. We got to wins some games; we got to put a run together. Certainly in the next couple of weeks we think we are going to have Valteri Filpula back, we think we will have Darren Helm back, certainly in Helm’s case, that’s a free agent trade.”

Holland on NHL realignment where the Wings are rumored to move to the East:
“Going into the Board of Governors meetings in December of 2011 we wanted to be in the East, we made it clear that we wanted to be in the East but there were so many issues for so many teams other than Detroit we ultimately voted for that four conference alignment that had us in the Midwest. Part of that conference was home and away with every team in the National Hockey league and we wanted our fans to see every team in the league in our building, Toronto every year, Boston every year, Montreal every year and we liked the idea that playoffs were going to be within the division so you weren’t going 3 time zones away to play in the playoffs in the first two rounds. Now obviously in the last month there seems to e a lot of talk. I don’t know a whole lot, I’m very familiar with what the media is saying, there obviously seems to be conversations going on between the union and the league. Our first priority going back to prior to December 2011 is to be in the East, that has never changed but we’ll see what happens here over the course of the next month or 6 weeks while they make a decision.

Take a listen to the entire interview and let me know: What do you think?

1. Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings – Lidstrom is one of the greatest defensemen to ever play in the NHL, and his career lasted two decades before his retirement in 2012. But his last 10 years were arguably his best. He didn’t win the first of his seven Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman until 2001.

2. Ben Wallace, Pistons – The best off-the-ball defender at the rim I have ever seen. Big Ben was a little undersized for an NBA center, so he would struggle in the post against massive big men such as Chris Webber and Shaquille O’Neal. Yet, in regard to help defense down low, nobody has ever been better than Wallace during his prime.

3. Ndamukong Suh, Lions – Suh’s rookie season (2010) was truly special for an inside defensive tackle in the NFL. He made big play after big play. After a difficult sophomore season, he bounced back with a very solid year in 2012.

As heard on 97.1 The Ticket –  Johan Frazen broke the scoreless tie in the second period with a wrist shot on an assist from Damien Brunner.   Late in the second period Niklas Kronwall added to the lead when his shot from the point went wide, bounced back off the boards and went in off the right skate of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to put the Wings up 2-0.

The Red Wings needed that second goal, because Colorado’s Paul Stastny spoiled Jimmy Howard’s bid for a shutout when he scored with 1:30 to play in the third.

Detroit has gone four straight games without allowing a goal in the first or second period.

Detroit was coming off a shootout loss to Chicago on Sunday – after the Red Wings came within 2:02 of handing the Blackhawks their first regulation loss of the season.

They almost blew a late lead in this one too, but Colorado wasn’t able to tie it up. The Avalanche nearly had a fortunate bounce of their own in the final seconds when a shot went wide and caromed off the boards out to Matt Duchene in front of the net. But Duchene couldn’t beat Howard.

After the final buzzer, a frustrated Duchene broke his stick into three pieces when he slammed it against the empty net Colorado had been defending, then threw the rest of the stick down on the ice.

The rivalry between Detroit and Colorado isn’t quite as heated as it used to be, and the first period Tuesday passed without a goal or a penalty.

Franzen gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the second when he got his stick on a Colorado shot from the point and then immediately began skating up the ice. Damien Brunner controlled the puck and sent a pass to Franzen, who went in alone and beat Giguere high to the glove side.

Kronwall’s goal with 2:28 left was more bizarre. His shot missed to the left of the net, but it caromed back as Giguere was extending his right leg and ended up bouncing off the goalie and in.

Howard made 36 saves. The most acrobatic of them came early in the third, when he stretched all the way out on his side to stop John Mitchell in front of the net. Mitchell had been left alone and had time to pull the puck to his backhand, but after maneuvering around Howard, he couldn’t put the puck past him.

Howard later stopped P.A. Parenteau on a breakaway.

The Red Wings wasted a chance to score again when they failed to take advantage of a two-man advantage in the third. The 5-on-3 situation began after Colorado’s Chuck Kobasew was called for boarding Brendan Smith – a hit that led to the first hint of a scuffle all night.
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It’s turning out the backlash was as real as an Ovechtrick because the NHL’s hockey-related revenue (HRR) is going to be just fine for this short season.

Click HERE for the full story from CBSSports.com

DETROIT (AP) – Patrick Kane had a couple shots that simply could not be stopped.

Just like the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago extended its NHL-record season-opening points streak to 22 games Sunday when Kane scored the tying goal on a power play with 2:02 left in regulation and the Blackhawks earned an extra point when the star forward scored the only goal in a shootout of a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

“Just amazing what’s going on,” Kane said.

Corey Crawford was perfect in the shootout and finished with 32 saves to help Chicago win a ninth straight game.
“He had several big saves, particularly right after they scored to go up one,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He kept us in there to make it a one-goal game and gave us a chance.”

The Blackhawks have earned at least a point in 28 straight games – dating to a March 25, 2012 loss in regulation to Nashville – to tie the second-longest streak in league history. They’ve matched Montreal’s multi-season points run from the 1977-78 season and trail only Philadelphia’s streak of 35 straight games with at least a point during the 1979-80 season.

“It’s impressive,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard acknowledged after making 32 saves. “They’re finding different ways to do it every single night.”

It looked like Chicago’s sensational streak of success might end when Detroit’s Tomas Tatar broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Howard stopped every puck that came his way.

Kane and Crawford had other ideas.

“We keep finding a way to keep ourselves in the game or win it at the end,” Kane said.

The Red Wings hurt their chances by getting called for delay of game twice toward the end of regulation for putting the puck out of play.

Chicago took advantage of the first of two late power plays with forward Viktor Stalberg getting more of the puck than Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey did, pushing it to Kane to set up a one-timer that made it 1-1.

Kane scored from the bottom of the right circle and pivoted toward the crowd, shouting with joy as he pumped his gloves toward the banner-filled rafters.

“He knew the importance of it to get us to overtime,” Quenneville said.
With a sold-out crowd on its feet for a shootout at the end of an entertaining afternoon of hockey, Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk was denied on a low attempt by Crawford’s pads on the first attempt. Jonathan Toews then went high and couldn’t get a shot past Howard’s glove.

Red Wings rookie Damien Brunner made some nifty moves next, but couldn’t keep the puck and for that, Crawford looked thankful as the two met face to face on the ice.

Kane then stole the show, slowly skating toward Howard and lifting his right skate off the ice twice before flipping a wrist shot past him to make the fans at Joe Louis Arena sigh.

“He’s got great skill,” Howard said.

On Detroit’s third attempt in the heart-pounding shootout, Henrik Zetterberg couldn’t extend the game.

“I don’t think we were close to perfect and we almost beat them anyway,” Zetterberg said.

The Red Wings had chances to win in regulation, and in overtime, but Crawford was effective in his return to the net.

Crawford slid to his left to get a piece of Johan Franzen’s shot with 1:40 left in overtime, and the two talked about the play during the subsequent break.

Both teams were inches away from scoring in the final seconds of overtime, with Detroit’s Brendan Smith just missing an opportunity to the left of the net and Kane’s shot squirting past Howard before it trickled just to right of the other net.

The Blackhawks dominated the first period, but Howard – and his teammates – prevented them from scoring on two power plays. The second period was evenly played, then Detroit finally got a shot past Crawford at 2:43 of the third.

Patrick Eaves got to a loose puck behind Chicago’s net, pushed it to Joakim Andersson, whose sharp pass set up Tatar perfectly on the side of the net to beat Crawford.

A bit later, Crawford made a spectacular glove save to deny Datsyuk’s chance that could’ve given the Red Wings a two-goal lead – and perhaps the win in regulation.

Quenneville gave Crawford the start in Detroit after he left his last game Thursday night in St. Louis with an upper-body injury that Quenneville insisted isn’t the same one that forced the goaltender off the ice earlier in the season.

Crawford didn’t get much work early, making just three saves in the first period. He stopped 12 shots in the second – as did Howard – in a fast-pace game filled with end-to-end action and few whistles.

“It was a fun game,” Zetterberg said. “Fans were really into it from the start. These are the games you’re looking forward to play. Unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the win.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The visiting Blackhawks expect another serious challenge when they look for a ninth straight victory by continuing their recent success against the surging archrival Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

While Chicago (18-0-3) is 21-0-6 since losing 6-1 at home to Nashville on March 25, it’s often had to work hard to maintain its record-setting start without a regulation loss in 2013. One night after rolling to a 3-0 win at St. Louis, the Blackhawks overcame a pair of one-goal deficits and a blown third-period lead before Brent Seabrook’s goal gave them a 4-3 overtime win over lowly Columbus on Friday.

“We were down early in this game,” said forward Bryan Bickell, who has a goal and two assists in four games. “It shows the character in this room to come back. It’s been fun. We’re just having a blast right now.”

Chicago’s enjoyment has come from a confidence that continues to grow while believing it can prevail no matter how challenging the situation. The Blackhawks, who average 3.2 goals and yield 1.9, are 11-0-3 in one-goal games.

“You get that swagger and confidence when you’re on a streak like this,” said forward Viktor Stalberg, who has three goals with an assist in five games. “You have confidence you’ll find a way to get it done.”

With that attitude in tow, the Blackhawks face their biggest rival looking to win nine straight for the first time since Dec. 7-28, 2008. Chicago is 13-0-4 on the road since losing 5-1 at St. Louis on March 6, and in the midst of a 7-0-1 stretch at Detroit.

Chicago has won four straight and nine of 13 overall against the Red Wings (10-8-3), but the last eight have been decided by a goal. Defenseman Nick Leddy scored 2:45 into overtime for a 2-1 home win over Detroit on Jan. 27.

Corey Crawford is among the NHL leaders at 9-0-3 with a 1.46 goals-against average, and could start for the Blackhawks after playing one period Thursday before leaving with an upper-body injury. He was between the pipes in this season’s first meeting, and is 4-0-1 with a 1.94 GAA at Joe Louis Arena the last two seasons.

Jimmy Howard will be back in the Detroit net after Jonas Gustavsson made 25 saves in Thursday’s 2-1 shootout win at San Jose. Rookie Damien Brunner had the lone shootout goal to lead the Red Wings to their third win in four games following an 0-3-2 stretch.

“This is the best our team has looked all year, not necessarily the way we’ve played, the way we’ve looked,” coach Mike Babcock said after his team improved to 4-4-3 in one-goal games.

The Red Wings have allowed 1.5 goals in the last four after yielding 3.8 in the previous five.

They prevailed Thursday despite failing on two power-play chances to fall to 0 for 33 on the road. Detroit is 3 for 23 with the man advantage in the last eight versus Chicago at Joe Louis Arena, but ranks among the NHL leaders converting 24.6 percent of those opportunities at home this season. The Red Wings are 4 of 7 in the last two at there.

The Blackhawks are killing 94.7 percent of their penalties on the road.

Johan Franzen, who scored Detroit’s goal at Chicago, does not have a point during a five-game stretch that was interrupted when he missed seven with a hip flexor.

Howard is 0-1-2 in his last four starts against the Blackhawks, but has a 2.04 GAA.

Chicago center Dave Bolland could miss a fifth straight game reportedly with a concussion.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

Before we get started can we all just admit that the way the NHL settles regular season tie games is a gimmick?

When the shootout was first brought into play by the league I was all for it. I, like a lot of other people hated seeing a game end in a tie and the thought of getting to watch a players best shot for the chance to get another point for their team was intriguing. And, it worked for a while. We all enjoyed watching Todd Bertuzzi and his slow motion spin-o-rama’s and guessing who will Mike Babcock use next when the shootout went past 3 players. But now it is just tired and boring.

We all knew it could not last forever. Everything that is not pure, like the gimmick to decide a hockey game gets stale and annoying after a while.

So I have decided to propose a new idea. I figured while the league is deciding on their new realignment plan why not discuss alternative ways to end tie games as well.

As I was watching the Wings lose to the Kings on Wednesday night I stumbled upon my new favorite, entertaining part of the game. The 5 on 3! In case you missed it, Detroit was forced to kill off back to back L.A. 2 man advantages in the 2nd period and it was really entertaining to watch. The Kings would later score their games tying goal in the 3rd period on another 5 on 3 chances and that too was fun to watch. In fact, this entire season because of new officiating there has been a tremendous amount of 2 man advantages and every time it was amused me.

So why no end a tie game like that? I do admit that this is just a temporary fix. Eventually we will get bored of the 5 on 3 too and be forced to look at another way to decide things. Remember the days when the penalty shot was so exciting? Yeah, no so much anymore because we now get to see it all the time. The same will happen to the 2 man advantage but in the beginning it will be fun.

Here is how I envision it working out; we’ll just call it “the Riger rules.”

After a tie game in the NHL at the end of regulation the normal 5 minutes of even strength overtime will be played. If the league wanted to make that extra 5 minutes 3 on 3 play, I would be all for it. But for now, let’s just imagine that play would remain 4 on 4 action.

-If a game is still tied after the 5 minutes then each team would get a 2 minute, 5 on 3 chance. Whichever teams scores the most goals in that 2 minute time frame would win the game.

-If the shorthanded team is whistled for a penalty then the team that has the 5 skaters will get to add another player making it 6 on 3 for the remainder of the time. For every penalty committed from the shorthanded team, another skater will be added for the full strength team. If a player for the full strength team commits a penalty then they would lose a skater and then it becomes 4 on 3 action.

-If the shorthanded team scores shorthanded then as a punishment the full strength team will lose the remainder of time on their 5 on 3. The shorthanded team would then start their 2 minutes of 5 on 3. If the team that scores shorthanded already has the lead, they would automatically win.

-If both teams still have the same score after the initial 2 minutes of 5 on 3 chances, then another 2 minutes would be granted to each team until a winner is determined.

So what do you think? I know rules would have to be worked out and everything would take some getting used to; however I believe this is better than the alternative, another shootout like we saw last night in San Jose.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Jonas Gustavsson delivered just the kind of performance the Detroit Red Wings expected when they signed him as a backup in the offseason.

Gustavsson made 25 saves in his first start of the season and was perfect in the shootout, leading the Red Wings to their third win in four games with a 2-1 victory over the struggling San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Slowed by a nagging groin injury early in the season, Gustavsson was unable to be the reliable backup to Jimmy Howard that Detroit needs – until he came up big against the Sharks. Gustavsson helped the Red Wings bounce back after losing 2-1 in Los Angeles the previous night.

“I was real excited to play today,” Gustavsson said. “You play because you want to win. That’s the best feeling you can have. The guys really helped me a lot today. They made it easier for me.”

Damien Brunner scored the lone goal in the shootout to give Gustavsson his first win since March 3, 2012, for Toronto against Montreal. Patrick Eaves tied the game midway through the third period with his first goal in more than two years as the Red Wings showed no signs of fatigue against the more-rested Sharks.

“We had a lot of energy out, especially after playing last night,” Eaves said. “I thought right from the start we didn’t have any lull at all. We really wanted to have a push in this game after last night and go for the two points.”

Logan Couture scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who lost 10 of 12 games in February and have just one regulation win in their past 14 games. Antti Niemi made 33 saves but it wasn’t enough for the win as San Jose’s scoring slump continues with just 10 goals in the past nine games.

“It’s the same story every game,” Couture said. “We have to find a way to score more goals. Personally and as a team we have to find a way to put it into the back of the net. You’re not going to win many games scoring one goal and we’ve found that out lately.”

San Jose was even blanked in the shootout, missing all three attempts against a backup goalie, including a wrist shot by Ryane Clowe that went wide to end the game.

That made Brunner’s forehand goal off Niemi’s glove in the second round the game-winner. Brunner has scored the deciding goal in both shootouts he has participated in as a rookie, also scoring the lone goal against Columbus on Jan. 21.

“Good players are going to miss, so why should I put myself under pressure going out there,” Brunner said. “I know I can score. It about being loose out there.”

This game between the only two teams to make the playoffs every season since the 2004-05 lockout took on added importance as both squads have struggled to find consistency in this lockout-shortened season. Both clubs are in a logjam in the middle of the Western Conference, with the Red Wings tied for fourth and the Sharks one point back in a five-way tie for sixth place.

The teams traded goals early in the third period, with Couture putting the Sharks on top when he scored the first goal less than 5 minutes into the period. The goal came after an odd bounce off the backboards on a dump-in by Douglas Murray. Couture and Joe Thornton did a good job at the blue line to keep the puck in the offensive zone and Thornton then found Couture for a one-timer from the circle to make it 1-0.

Niemi made a strong stop on a rebound from Daniel Cleary to preserve the lead but had no chance when Eaves tipped Niklas Kronwall’s point shot past him for the tying goal less than 2 minutes after San Jose scored to end a personal 46-game goal drought.

Gustavsson preserved the tie when he made a tough stop on Thornton from in close with less than 7 minutes to play, and the game remained that way for the rest of regulation.

The Sharks had the better of the chances in the first two periods, with Couture generating a few scoring chances in the first period and Clowe missing wide after struggling to control the puck on a breakaway.

San Jose then failed to even get a shot on a pair of 2-on-1s in the second period as Patrick Marleau and Thornton each attempted passes that failed to connect instead of shooting the puck.

“We haven’t exactly been lighting it up,” coach Todd McLellan said. “They’re smart people. They can watch the game. They know they have to shoot the puck to score. It’s disappointing. When we have those opportunities, we have to make good on them. Other teams in the league are. We have to.”

NOTES: The Red Wings failed on two power-play chances and are 0 for 33 on the road this season. … Clowe returned from a two-game suspension but remains without a goal in 17 games.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Anze Kopitar instinctively went to the net while his linemates dug for the puck along the boards. Dwight King knew where to find him with a pass for the Los Angeles Kings’ tiebreaking goal.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are on another roll, and the chemistry they developed during last year’s title run is starting to show.

Kopitar scored on a slick pass from King with 4:48 to play, and Los Angeles rallied from a third-period deficit for its fifth straight victory, 2-1 over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles is on its longest winning streak of the season, capturing seven of eight overall after a 3-5-2 start to its title defense. Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves for the Kings, who are succeeding with the formula that won the Cup last season: stellar goaltending backed by opportunistic offense from all four lines.

“I think we’re putting together a pretty good streak here, and we’ve got to keep it going,” Kopitar said. “We know we had a bit of a slow start and we’ve got some catching up to do.”

One day after trading seven-time, 20-goal scorer Simon Gagne to Philadelphia for a conditional draft pick, the Kings began with 50 scoreless minutes against Jimmy Howard, who stopped 27 shots.

The Kings finally tied it with 9:34 left on Jeff Carter’s goal during a two-man advantage. King then made a spinning pass from the boards in front to Kopitar, who beat Howard for his sixth goal of the season.

Late goals from two veteran stars thrilled the sellout crowd at Staples Center, where the Kings completed an unbeaten February run — albeit in just four home games. Los Angeles also avenged a last-minute loss to the Wings in Detroit 17 days earlier.

“We thought we deserved better in Detroit, so maybe it all comes down to the hockey god, right?” Kings coach Darryl Sutter asked. “I don’t think we had much in the tank, to be honest. The goaltender was the difference in the game.”

Except for a misadventure with his glove on Quincey’s goal, Bernier was outstanding in the backup goalie’s fourth consecutive victory since Feb. 2.

Kyle Quincey scored his first goal of the season on a misplay by Bernier in the first period, and the mistake was the only thing that prevented the Red Wings from getting shut out for the first time since their season opener.

The Red Wings had won two straight after an 0-3-2 skid, but Detroit blew a 40-minute lead for just the second time in nine games this season, while the Kings rallied from a two-period deficit for the second time this year.

“I’ve got to give us a chance to win, but it wasn’t enough,” Howard said. “We were playing a great road game there. We were just grinding it out and making smart plays. (But it) doesn’t matter who you play, you can’t be giving up three 5-on-3s.”

Center Johan Franzen returned to Detroit’s lineup after missing seven games with a hip injury, and defenseman Brendan Smith returned from an 11-game absence with an injured shoulder. Quincey also returned after missing the last two games with an injured ankle.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock used the injury turnover to shake up his lineup, benching defensemen Ian White and Kent Huskins.

“We built on our last game there with a lot of movement, a lot of shots,” captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “Only thing we didn’t have is goals.”

Detroit dominated play early and scored on a comical misplay by Bernier. After King gave away the puck, Quincey’s high shot toward the net popped out of Bernier’s glove and arced over his head, falling softly into the goal behind him.

Quincey hadn’t registered a point in 17 games this season, and hadn’t scored a goal since last March 19 against Washington.

Los Angeles showed more spark later, but its oft-struggling power play had a particularly low moment in the second period after three consecutive Red Wings penalties. Given two full minutes of 5-on-3 play, the Kings barely threatened Howard and the Detroit defensemen, who got a loud ovation from the red-clad fans crowding the lower bowl.

But the Kings got another 5-on-3 advantage midway through the third period when Pavel Datsyuk received a rare minor penalty for a faceoff violation, and Carter deflected Mike Richards’ shot through Howard’s legs for his 11th goal.

Carter scored a goal in his fifth straight game, one short of the longest streak of his career.

NOTES: Los Angeles LW Dustin Penner played in his 500th NHL game. He recently took the lineup spot of Gagne, who hadn’t scored a goal in 11 games this season. … Detroit D Carlo Colaiacovo is expected to return from a shoulder injury Sunday, which would put nine defensemen on the Red Wings roster. … Irish forward Robbie Keane attended the game along with most of the two-time defending MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, who begin their regular season Sunday.

Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson’s season ended with one vicious slash of a skate blade across his left Achilles’ tendon.

Karlsson hopped off the ice on one skate and went straight to the locker room, with a green light for the operating table.

Karlsson was flattened by Penguins forward Matt Cooke, and sliced by his skate blade as the two tangled along the boards. In a sport where brutal head shots and 100 mph pucks to the face often take headlines for leaving lasting injuries, the incident was a bleak reminder of how nasty one wrong cut can cause serious damage. Karlsson, the Norris Trophy winner last season as the NHL’s top defenseman, is out for the season but expected to make a full recovery.

As nasty as it was — and as much as Cooke’s motivations have been debated — there’s a chance Karlsson’s injury could have been prevented or at least drastically lessened.

Karlsson could have worn Kevlar-reinforced socks that are touted as cut-proof. Bauer, one of the leading hockey equipment manufacturers, for example, makes a skate sock made of Kevlar fiber that would protect the leg from below the knee down to the middle of the foot. The sock is far from mandatory, but Karlsson’s injury has made some players think hard about adding a new layer of protection to avoid a similar fate. The Washington Capitals had a box of socks waiting for them before a recent practice.

The socks should be a growing trend in the NHL. But some players are still resistant to use them. The use of Kevlar in other equipment pieces is also debated in the NHL, especially in some of the exposed areas like the neck. It could be a new wave of protection in a game that appears to be getting more dangerous by the season.

Karlsson’s injury put the sport on notice to the dangers of playing with legs unprotected. Kevlar, high-impact material used by military, law enforcement and NFL players for body armor, could be the answer.

“That was a scary incident,” New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. “I mean, they’re fluke things, but, I coached (former NHL forward) Richard Zednik who had his artery cut with a skate blade. Guys are moving so fast and plays are happening so spontaneously that I think the more Kevlar we can get on these guys the better, because you can see it’s something that doesn’t need to happen obviously if you’re wearing something like that.”

Karlsson’s not alone. Just last week, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Zach Redmond suffered a gash to his right femoral artery and vein after he was accidentally cut by a teammate’s skate during a drill. He was taken to the hospital and underwent a three-hour surgery.

Not all players are on board with the safety upgrade.

Penguins forward Tyler Kennedy told reporters he was “taking a risk” by not wearing the socks in the aftermath of Karlsson’s injury. He said general discomfort as the main issue. Capitals defenseman John Erskine complained the sock was thick around the ankle.

Issues with style or comfort are the same excuses given by former players who protested for decades about wearing helmets. There are some who still view playing without a half-face visor as some sort of badge of courage. Ask injured Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who took a stick to the outside of his right eye in 2011, how that worked out. There’s also a stubborn refusal by wannabe tough-guys to wear protective plexiglass shielding on their skates to lessen the rash of broken bones suffered from trying to block shots.

And those stances are tough to break. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said convincing players to switch up their equipment, even if it could prevent injuries, is a tall order.

“Whether they can make these protective devices smaller or lighter, I don’t know,” he said. “But we haven’t found the right formula yet in order to get all of our players to wear them.”

The NHL has made great strides in beefing up head safety and making helmets and other protective gear mandatory. Down the line, swapping lightweight socks to these cut-resistant ones could be on the agenda.

“I think if you are able to find material that at least prevents some of the cut, it would be best because it’s something that you won’t feel on your skin,” Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said. “It’s got a different feeling when you put these different type of socks on. We have a lot of guys that do wear them and I think it’s important.”

All it takes to get a player to change his mind sometimes is a good scare. After Detroit Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula missed a 2011 game because of a deep cut on his right shin, he returned wearing a Kevlar sock.

In the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned from an injury last season playing with a custom-fit rib/chest compression shirt and a layer of Kevlar-lined composite in his shoulder pads to help absorb hits to his clavicle and shoulder joint regions. And pitchers in Major League Baseball could experiment this season with protective hat liners made of Kevlar, to cut down on injury resulting from line drives back to the mound.

In the NHL, it’s a matter of the game’s tough-natured culture and this advanced technology someday finding a happy medium.

“They’re big boys,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said, “and they make their own decision.”

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan contributed to this report.

___

Follow Dan Gelston online: https://twitter.com/APGelston

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The Kings can extend their season-high run to five games by denying the visiting Red Wings a third straight victory Wednesday night.

Los Angeles (9-6-2) was outscored 31-22 while starting 3-5-2, but has posted a 23-10 goal advantage in winning six of seven. The Kings have allowed more than one goal twice during that stretch following a 5-2 home win over Anaheim on Monday.

Dustin Brown and Slava Voynov each had a goal and an assist while Anze Kopitar added three assists for the Kings, who rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits to snap the Ducks’ six-game winning streak.

Click HERE for the full game preview

Saturday night was a great night.  Not only did the Wings end a five game losing skid by blanking the Preds 4-0 at the Joe, but a rumor also broke that Detroit will be headed to the Eastern conference in the league’s latest attempt for realignment.  Plus, I also went to several bars that evening, which added to it being a great night.

In case you missed it, if approved, the Wings will leave the likes of Columbus, St. Louis, Nashville and Chicago for better travel, higher marquee games, better start times and a chance to play three other “Original 6” teams six times each a season or more.  In the new plan, Detroit and Columbus move to the East while Winnipeg heads out West.  Below is how the conferences and divisions would shape up…

Eastern Conference 1-

Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals

Eastern Conference 2-

Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadians, DETROIT RED WINGS, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers

Western Conference 3-

Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg jets and an open spot for a team to be named later

Western Conference 4-

Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and an open spot for a team to be named later

How great of an idea is this?

Forever the Wings and their fans have wanted back in the Eastern Conference and for a multitude of reasons they would never be granted that wish.  In fact, I’m shocked that we are even talking about this.  It’s no secret that hockey has been using the Wings for years now and it has worked.  How many Saturday nights in Phoenix, Dallas, Colorado or Nashville has that Winged Wheel helped sell tickets to?  For that reason alone, I figured Detroit would forever be banished to the West.  No matter how many times we heard about Mr. I demanding the Eastern Conference or Ken Holland telling us that the league has promised him normal start times, nobody believed it and maybe there is no reason to believe now however I really want to.

Can you imagine what a 7 o’clock playoff start time would feel like?

Can you imagine getting to play Toronto, Montreal and Boston on a regular basis?

Can you imagine being guaranteed multiple games a season with the Penguins, Capitals and Rangers?  Under this new plan all of the above can come true.  And, this is just what is great for the fans: let’s not forget how it would help the team.  Henrik Zetterberg once told me that the Wings would never be able to win a Stanley Cup if they had to play three series that started in the Pacific Time Zone.  The travel has been brutal and that too can all be a thing of the past.

Of course this new plan is not good for some teams, but it’s time for Wings fans to be selfish and not give a damn about the other organizations.  After the lockout I kept hearing how the league would have to win fans back, well at least here in Detroit this is a start.  There was never a good enough reason that the Wings could go full seasons without facing some of the fans favorites because they had to play 100 games with the Blue Jackets instead.  Maybe this new plan will finally allow us to see every team play a home and home with every other team in the league like the NBA does.  But for now, this new plan will work.

I thought everybody would be elated about the rumor, like me, however I was wrong.  As soon as I tweeted out a picture of what the Wings new division would look like I received a ton of negative comments.  Fans say they will miss the Blackhawks, which I understand, but I would give up Chicago for Toronto, Boston, Montreal and more games with New York, Washington and Pittsburgh in a heartbeat.  People also claimed they didn’t want to give up that fantastic rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche.  Really?  That hatred has been dead for over a decade.  But the thing that got me the most confused were the numerous hockey fanatics that voiced their concern about the Eastern Conference and how the teams there are better, scarier, and thus Wings fans want to stay in the West where the teams are weaker and safer.

Seriously, a lot of people feel that way!  It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

Since when is the fan base of a team that has gone to 21 consecutive postseasons and have won 4 cups during that time afraid of anything?  If I’m not mistaken, the Western Conference has been the better of the two over the last 20 years and the Wings have grown to be one of the most dominant and respected teams of that era.

So why be afraid?  That’s just weak!

So what, Boston won a cup two years ago and Philly went to the Finals 3 years ago.  Does that make the Eastern Conference that scary?

If you are one of the people that will miss the Blackhawks, Sharks, Ducks, Preds or anybody else in the West than I kind of understand why you wouldn’t want the Wings to move.  Not really, but sort of.  However if you are like many of these scared fans that don’t want the team to switch conferences because you fear that the East is too tough, or physical or good then please shut up!  You my friends are an embarrassment to Hockey Town.

Embrace the change!  It will be good for the game as they can expand with new teams and it will be great for Detroit.

The team announced the move Monday.

Lashoff has a goal and two assists in 15 games this season, his first in the NHL. The 22-year-old native of Albany, N.Y., has made the most of his opportunities to fill in for banged-up defenseman in Detroit.

The undrafted free agent played in 36 games during the NHL lockout with the Grand Rapids Griffins after playing all of last season with the Red Wings’ American Hockey League affiliate.

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As it stands now, the proposal would see the league have four “conferences.” Two of them would be eight-team conferences on the eastern side, and the other side feature two seven-team conferences on the western side.

READ MORE ON THE PROPOSED REALIGNMENT AT CBSSPORTS.COM

Moving Detroit and Columbus into a conference with other Eastern Time Zone teams just makes too much sense for it to not happen. Not only from a travel point of view, but there’s also some great natural rivalries in there as well. The league and NHLPA hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of next week.

DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Red Wings got a great performance in net and plenty of offense at the other end of the rink – including a rare power-play goal – to earn a much-needed win.

Jimmy Howard made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season and Drew Miller scored an early goal as Detroit snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

“We put everything to rest,” Howard said.

Not quite.

The previously reeling Red Wings still have plenty of work to do to prove they are a playoff team, but holding onto a lead for a change is an improvement for them.

Detroit led 2-0 in three of the losses during its skid.

“When you haven’t won, it doesn’t matter what the score is, the lead’s never safe,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s just a confidence thing. Confidence in pro sports comes and goes in a hurry, so this is a big win for us.”

Tomas Tatar gave Detroit a two-goal lead early in the second, and Niklas Kronwall made it a three-goal cushion late in the period.

“The third goal was the back-breaker for our team,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.

Detroit didn’t waste its first 3-0 lead of the season, but instead added to it with Daniel Cleary’s goal on a power play midway through the third period.

Pekka Rinne gave up those three goals on just 17 shots and finished with 23 saves for the Predators.
The Red Wings didn’t need another goal to win, but they were desperate for some success on the power play. They got some when Cleary raised his stick to redirect Kronwall’s slap shot.

“It was big,” Cleary said. “We got some guys moving and we got some shots. We were talking all day about getting more shots.”

During its five-game losing streak, Detroit scored only one goal on 17 power plays.

Nashville, playing on consecutive nights, has lost two straight and four of five.

The Predators had won seven of eight against Detroit, including last year’s first-round playoff series, but lost this one despite outshooting the Red Wings.

“Got to find a way to score,” Nashville defenseman Shea Weber said. “Chances aren’t going to win the games.”

Detroit made the most of its second chances to score against Rinne, who matched a season high by allowing four goals.

“I’m comfortable putting him in net every night,” Trotz said before the game. “You always get an argument from Pekka, `Shea Weber plays every night, and everybody else plays every night. Why shouldn’t I play every night?’ That’s what the great ones do, they just want to play.”

Miller scored off a rebound 5:11 into the game to perhaps relax the reeling Red Wings. Tatar lifted a loose puck high and into the net 2:58 into the second period.

Kronwall’s one-timer fluttered past Rinne, who had an obstructed view of the shot as Cleary was tangled up with teammate Scott Hannan in front. That gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead at 15:33 of the second.

Howard made nine saves in the third period to seal his 12th career shutout.

“He was really good early when the game was right on the line,” Babcock said. “They were better than us early, and he was good. Really good for him but more importantly, good for us. We needed the win.”

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Lately, though, those absences have become much more glaring.

Mired in a five-game skid and coming off a loss to the worst team in the Western Conference, the Red Wings look to bounce back Saturday night against the Nashville Predators.

Although it preceded a first-round loss to the Predators, the 2011-12 regular season was another successful one for Detroit, which eclipsed 100 points for the 12th straight year.

This season, however, brought a good deal of change to the Red Wings, with the retirements of Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom, as well as the free-agent departures of Brad Stuart and Jiri Hudler.

Detroit (7-7-3) appeared capable of maintaining its regular level of success without those players after starting 7-4-1, but a five-game slide has dropped it out of the top eight teams in the West. If the season ended today, the Red Wings would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1989-90.

Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Columbus marked the third time in the losing streak that Detroit squandered a two-goal lead.

“When we got up 2-0, we fooled around a little bit,” coach Mike Babcock said.

Damien Brunner and Valtteri Filppula scored in the first 2:40 of the game, but Babcock’s team went scoreless on four power-play opportunities and is 1 for 17 during the skid.

“We felt we created chances, had a lot of shots, but we couldn’t really find a way to get the puck in there,” captain Henrik Zetterberg told the team’s official website. “We did a lot of good things today in the PP but it’s still not good enough.”

The latest loss also included an injury to defenseman Kyle Quincey, who won’t play Saturday due to a sprained ankle. That’s bad news for a team that has surrendered 19 goals in the last five games.

Jimmy Howard stopped 21 shots Thursday and is 0-2-1 with a 4.08 goals-against average in the losing streak. He started Detroit’s 4-3 overtime loss at Nashville on Tuesday, allowing two goals on seven shots before leaving in the first period with blurred vision.

Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist in that meeting, giving him seven points in his last five games against the Predators (8-5-5). While Datsyuk had a five-game goal-scoring streak snapped Thursday, Zetterberg’s goal drought reached 10 games.

Nashville also is struggling, falling 1-0 to visiting Vancouver on Friday for its third loss in four games. The Predators, who have been shut out a league high-tying four times, managed only five shots each in the second and third period.

“In the end, when we got down and we got a little desperate, we played pretty well, but other than that, we weren’t very good tonight,” captain Shea Weber said.

The continued lack of offense wasted another strong performance from Pekka Rinne, who has a 1.04 GAA and three shutouts this month. He’s also been excellent against the Red Wings lately, going 7-1-0 with a 1.88 GAA in his past eight meetings, including last year’s playoffs.

Backup Chris Mason struggled in his last start, yielding six goals on 18 shots before he was pulled in a 6-5 loss at Colorado on Monday.

Martin Erat has been one of the leading culprits in Nashville’s offensive woes, tallying three points – all assists – in his last nine contests.

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Mursak has played in only two games for Detroit this season. He had a goal and two assists in 25 games in 2011-12.

The Yugoslavia-born Mursak has two goals and two assists in 46 NHL games, all with Detroit. The Red Wings drafted him in the sixth round in 2006.

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No matter how you look at it, the Detroit Red Wings need to be better. Detroit lost their 5th game in a row on Thursday night to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Joe Louis Arena 3-2 and now everybody is wondering if this is a playoff team. We know the stats, Detroit has made the postseason 21 consecutive years but with a ton of injured bodies no Nick Lidstrom or Brad Stuart and the overall parody that now is the NHL, can they make it 22? Looks doubtful right now?

Below I have decided to list some of the more interesting stats that the Wings have complied during this 5 game losing skid.

-They accumulated just 2 points of a possible 10.

-They are 1 for 17 over the last 5 games on the power play. If you are into the percentages, that’s not even 6%. A successful PP hits around 25%, the Blues, the best in the game right now, are almost at 32% for the season while the Wings are not even at 13%.

-They allowed 3 PP goals in 17 chances.

-They are outshooting the opposition in those 5 games 136-135 but they have been outscored 19-12.

-In 3 of the 5 games the Wings have held at least a 2 goal lead.

-7 of the 12 goals have come from 3 different players, Pavel Datsyuk had 3, Damien Brunner had 2 and Thomas Tartar had a couple as well. Valteri Filpula. Dan Cleary, Jordin Tootoo, Joakim Andersson and Drew Miller had the other tallies.

- They allowed 1 shorthanded goal in the 5 games and scored one as well. Detroit as a team has given up 3 shorthanded goals for the season which leads the league.

-Detroit has done decent in the circle, winning 139 of 256 face-offs.

-Detroit has been out hit 109-88

-Detroit has given away the puck a significant amount of times more than their opponent, 38-29.

So what does all of the above tell you? Nothing more than they have lost 5 in a row. Sure you would like them to give away fewer pucks and score more on the PP, but other than that, there is really no stat that sticks out that tells the story of an awful Detroit Red Wings team. During the 5 game skid they have started on time, they have had costly turnovers and they even outplayed their opposition for numerous periods but the biggest reason for the losing is not playing a consistent 60 minutes of hockey in any of the games in question.

But it could be worse…

Detroit is injured more than anybody could have expected. Some players will come back shortly while others we might not see for the remainder of the season. Yes, they have to start winning more games and their schedule doesn’t get any easier. Thursday night was essentially must-win because it was the Blue Jackets at home. Detroit now brings in the Preds and Canucks over the weekend before heading out west to play the Kings and Sharks. They could very well extend their losing skid to 9 games and if that happens there will be very little chance of making the playoffs. However during all the ups and downs of a rough 5 games losing skid, it is important to show that the Wings are just a single win out of the 8th spot in the Western conference. Plus, every game that we have expected them to lose this year they have won or at least got a point in overtime or a shootout loss.

The Wings have a lot to play for still and they don’t have to win every statistical category, they just need to start winning in one… The scoreboard. This team is not as bad as it seems right now, the above stats will tell you that. Now it’s up for the team to do the same thing. I think they will. What about you?

DETROIT (AP) - The Columbus Blue Jackets had success on the ice and got some relatively good news off it.

Vinny Prospal scored with 24.7 seconds left, capping a comeback that lifted Columbus to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.

The game took a frightening turn early in the second period when Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being struck in the head by Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey.

Anisimov, a 24-year-old Russian, was alert and able to move when he was taken to Detroit Medical Center as a precaution because he said his head hurt.

“He’s alert and stable,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “Obviously, that’s great news.”

Anisimov was skating toward the back of Detroit’s net alongside Red Wings defenseman Ian White when he lost his balance as Quincey landed a blow to his head that didn’t seem intentional.

“It’s scary for players when somebody gets hurt like that,” Richards said. “Injuries are part of the game and that starts to creep in a little bit, but I thought our guys refocused.”

Damien Brunner and Valtteri Filppula scored in the first 2-plus minutes of the game to put Detroit ahead by two, a cushion it wasted for a third time during its five-game losing streak.

“We talked about we want to have a good start, and we do,” Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “Now, we just got to find a way to finish it off.”

R.J. Umberger’s power-play goal a couple of minutes after Detroit took its two-goal lead pulled Columbus within one. Derek Dorsett tied it early in the third period.

Prospal’s backhander off crisp, cross-ice passes from James Wisniewski and Dorsett ended the Blue Jackets’ three-game losing streak.

“We were all in the positions where we were supposed to be and we made a good play,” Prospal said. “The puck bounced my way, just a give-and-go with Dorsett. It was a clear-cut, three-on-two (rush) and we played it the way you are supposed to play it. When you get an odd-man rush, it should end up in the net.

“For me to score that goal, it’s just a great feeling.”

Sergei Bobrovsky had to feel good, too, after Detroit scored on its first and third shots against him. He bounced back to finish with 28 saves, including some midway through the third when teammates were called for consecutive penalties.

“We basically went four minutes straight with killing penalties, and that’s when Bobry stood tall,” Richards said.

Jimmy Howard stopped 21 shots for the Red Wings.

Early on, Detroit seemed to take advantage of playing a team that started the game with an NHL-low 10 points.

Brunner whiffed on a wraparound attempt and still had time to stuff the puck past Bobrovsky just 18 seconds into the game. Filppula redirected Brian Lashoff’s shot with his stick, sending the puck low and between Bobrovsky’s pads.

The Red Wings, though, showed that a two-goal lead isn’t safe for their rebuilding team that is missing former defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart.

“When we got up 2-nothing, we fooled around a little bit,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.

Jordin Tootoo picked a fight with Dorsett, who looked as though he was about to tangle with Jonathan Ericsson.

“Me and Ericsson were going to fight, we were backing up,” Dorsett said. “Tootoo was being himself and came in swinging, being the cheap player that he is. In my mind he should have gotten a suspension. Tootoo is a pretty irrelevant player.”

The Blue Jackets took advantage of a power play they got because the Detroit enforcer was given an instigation penalty and a misconduct. The extra space, and skater, allowed Umberger to get to a loose puck in front of Howard and poke it past him.

“That power play gave us some life and got us back into it,” Richards said.

Tootoo drew Dorsett into an interference penalty midway through the game, but the Red Wings didn’t take advantage of the power play or the two-man advantage they had briefly midway through the third.

“Whether it was a dive or not, you just can’t put yourself in that position,” Richards said.

NOTES: Dorsett had what’s known as a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, assist and fight. … Detroit has lost five straight for the first time since dropping six in a row from March 10-21 of last season. … The teams split the first two games of their series this season, both of which were in Columbus. … Quincey skated off the ice following the collision with Anisimov and went to Detroit’s dressing room with an ankle injury. He didn’t return.

© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Even short-handed, Detroit should have a good chance to continue its home dominance of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With the status of goaltender Jimmy Howard uncertain, the Red Wings look to avoid a fifth straight defeat and keep the league-worst Blue Jackets winless on their road trip Thursday night.

Howard left Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss at Nashville with blurred vision after allowing two goals on seven shots in 11:22 of ice time. He is 6-5-2 with a 3.08 goals-against average and has started all but two of Detroit’s games.

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It was canceled, but not all is lost. The Toronto Sun is reporting Wednesday that the organizers are closing in on a plan for Winter Classic 2014, to be played New Year’s Day at the University of Michigan.

Like this year’s scrapped game, plans include a match-up between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

“The assumption by pretty much everybody with a pulse was that the Winter Classic plans would stay the same, just change the date by a year,” according to Brian Stubits, a blogger for CBS Sports.

And the details for the last event were pretty spectacular.

“This Winter Classic should be the biggest one ever because Detroit is Hockeytown,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last February when announcing the mega-plan.

In addition to the 120,000 people who would be able to see the game in Ann Arbor, the event was to encompass the city of Detroit as well, Bettman said. Downtown activites in and around Comerica Park tied to the Winter Classic were to include youth games, open skating, the Alumni Showdown Game and more.

It was expected to bring up to 200,000 people to downtown Detroit during the Winter Classic.

“There will be more opportunities than ever before for people to connect with Winter Classic,” Bettman said. “Our presence in Detroit will be unmistakeable.”

Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch echoed that sentiment at the time, saying he was “all fired up,” about the Winter Classic and its ability to bring a tremendous positive impact on metro Detroit.