The Detroit Red Wings hosted the San Jose Sharks at the Joe Louis Arena on Sunday, in search of extending their record-setting win streak at home to 23 games. They ultimately proved they were up to the task, as they took advantage of struggling San Jose goalie Antti Niemi and picked up the 3-2 win.
The Red Wings took just 28 shots on goal in the game -- against 33 by San Jose -- but the slumping Niemi ended up letting three of them through, most notably a bad read in the first period that got Detroit on the board first and ended up being the difference.
Henrik Zetterberg scored the first period goal at 6:30, his 13th of the season, with assists by Jonathan Ericsson and Valtteri Filppula. In the second period, the Wings extended their lead at 10:40 when Andrew Miller netted his 12th goal with an assist from Justin Abdelkader. The Sharks cut the lead in half at 14:33 in the second period on a Logan Couture power play goal.
In the third period, the Red Wings again struck first, with Darren Helm scored his sixth goal of the season with an assist from Miller at 7:01. San Jose drew close once again at 15:16, when Patrick Marleau got his 23rd goal of the season past Joey MacDonald. The Sharks were unable to score on their empty net drive at the end and Detroit picked up the win.
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