The Detroit Red Wings jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the struggling Minnesota Wild after the first period of play on Friday night. The Wings were looking to build off a Tuesday night win in Columbus.
Valtteri Filppula put the Red Wings on the board early, less than a minute into the game with his 20th goal of the season. He was assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. Filppula has four goals and five assists in his last eight games.
Brendan Smith chipped in with his first goal of the season at the 16-minute mark. He was assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Danny Cleary.
Detroit outshot the Wild in the first period by a total of 13-5, and Detroit made their shots count for a two-goal lead.
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