SB Nation Detroit - Red Wings Halt Wild's Winning Streak With 4-1 Victoryhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48919/detroit-fave.png2010-12-26T21:35:22-05:00http://detroit.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16607872010-12-26T21:35:22-05:002010-12-26T21:35:22-05:00Red Wings Defense Leads Way In Rout Of Wild
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<p><span>Dan Cleary</span> and <span>Henrik Zetterberg</span> banked in two early goals to help the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.wingingitinmotown.com/">Detroit Red Wings</a> get a much needed 4-1 victory in Minnesota on Sunday.</p>
<p><span>Kris Draper</span> and Tomas Homstrom also scored for the Red Wings, who were coming off a tough 4-3 loss in St. Louis on Thursday. <span>Jimmy Howard</span> returned to the Detroit net after getting a one game break and made 15 saves.</p>
<p><span>Brent Burns</span> scored the lone goal for the Wild and <span>Niklas Backstrom</span> stopped 23 shots.</p>
<p>Detroit got a solid defensive effort after a recent run of shaky performances. The Red Wings had given up at least four goals in their past four outings and will be without Selke Trophy-winner <span>Pavel Datsyuk</span> for at least a month after the forward broke his hand on Wednesday. Detroit gave up just 16 shots to Minnesota—their second lowest total of the year—and killed off five of six penalties.</p>
<p>Zetterberg banked in a shot at the 4:38 mark of the first period to give the Wings the game’s first goal. Five minutes later, Cleary threw the puck from behind the net off Backstrom for his team-leading 16th goal.</p>
<p>The Wings kept the momentum going in the second period. Draper scored his first goal of the season five and a half minutes in, tipping in a shot from <span>Niklas Kronwall</span> past Backstrom to push the lead to three. Draper missed the first portion of the season with a groin injury and will see an increased role with Datsyuk on the mend.</p>
<p>Holmstrom got his 10th goal of the year with six minutes left in the frame, stuffing home a rebound off Zetterberg’s drive on the power play after <span>Kyle Brodziak</span> took a penalty for cross checking <span>Darren Helm</span> face-first into the boards.</p>
<p>Burns finished off the scoring on the power play late in the third, stuffing a rebound under Howard’s right pad to avert the shutout, but it was too late for the home team.</p>
<p>The Red Wings experienced a slight scare late in the third period when Cleary took a <span>Brad Stuart</span> shot off his skate that sent him crumpling to the ice in pain. Cleary labored over to the Red Wings bench, but appeared to shake the pain off and returned to the game minutes later.</p>
<p>The Wings return to action tomorrow night in Colorado.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/detroit-red-wings/2010/12/26/1897621/red-wings-minnesota-wild-december-2010-recapRyan Weiss2010-12-26T12:10:50-05:002010-12-26T12:10:50-05:00Red Wings Head To Minnesota Looking To Halt Wild's Winning Streak
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<p>(<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/events/61714/preview?article_id=131659">Sports Network</a>) - The <a href="https://www.hockeywilderness.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Minnesota Wild</a> are within reach of their first four-game winning streak in nearly a year, but in order to obtain that mark they will have to knock off the Western Conference co-leading <a href="https://www.wingingitinmotown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Detroit Red Wings</a> this evening at Xcel Energy Center.</p>
<p>The Wild haven't won four straight since Jan. 6-13, but are currently on their third three-game winning streak of the season. They extended their run on Thursday with a 3-1 victory in Colorado.</p>
<p><a href="../../nhl/players/54237/matt-cullen" class="sbn-auto-link">Matt Cullen</a> scored twice and assisted on <span>Andrew Brunette</span>'s tally for his first two-goal and three-point game of the season. <a href="../../nhl/players/54727/niklas-backstrom" class="sbn-auto-link">Niklas Backstrom</a> came away with 36 saves.</p>
<p>"It was one of those games that you kind of understand the importance of it," Cullen said. "It's a big game. I think a lot of guys rose to the occasion. A lot of guys brought their A game, it's such a crucial point in the season for us. It's not easy to get on a roll. We wanted to fight to keep that momentum going.</p>
<p>"It was just a big win."</p>
<p>The Wild will now look to get on a roll at home, where they have lost five of their last seven and are 8-7-2 this season.</p>
<p>Detroit has had its fair share of success in Minnesota, winning four of six while also going 8-2-1 with a tie in its last 12 played there.</p>
<p>Minnesota did notch a 4-3 overtime victory in Detroit on Nov. 19, getting the winner from <span>John Madden</span>. It was just the Wild's third victory in their last 10 versus the Red Wings overall.</p>
<p>Backstrom did not start that game, sitting in favor of <a href="../../nhl/players/54358/jose-theodore" class="sbn-auto-link">Jose Theodore</a>, and is 1-3-2 with a 3.50 goals-against average in his career versus the Red Wings.</p>
<p>Detroit will look to grab some momentum tonight as it has lost three of its last four games, yielding four goals in each contest. It didn't have the offense to make up that deficit last night, falling 4-3 in St. Louis.</p>
<p><a href="../../nhl/players/54800/johan-franzen" class="sbn-auto-link">Johan Franzen</a>, <a href="../../nhl/players/54265/patrick-eaves" class="sbn-auto-link">Patrick Eaves</a> and <a href="../../nhl/players/55723/nicklas-lidstrom" class="sbn-auto-link">Nicklas Lidstrom</a> all scored for the Red Wings, who lost the opener of a four-game swing and are 8-5-1 as the guest this season.</p>
<p>"It's not easy to win games if you have to score five every day," Detroit's <span>Henrik Zetterberg</span> said. "It's something you have to look after."</p>
<p>Detroit was playing without <a href="../../nhl/players/55726/pavel-datsyuk" class="sbn-auto-link">Pavel Datsyuk</a>, who suffered a broken right hand on Wednesday that is expected to sideline him for a month. Franzen replaced him on a line with Zetterberg and <a href="../../nhl/players/55752/tomas-holmstrom" class="sbn-auto-link">Tomas Holmstrom</a>.</p>
<p><a href="../../nhl/players/54855/chris-osgood" class="sbn-auto-link">Chris Osgood</a> gave up four goals on 25 shots and was again denied in his bid to become just the 10th player in league history to reach 400 wins.</p>
<p>Detroit leads the Central Division with 46 points, but is tied with Dallas for the most in the West.</p>
<p><a href="../../nhl/players/55738/jimmy-howard" class="sbn-auto-link">Jimmy Howard</a> should get the nod over Osgood tonight and is 3-1-1 with a 2.73 GAA lifetime versus the Wild.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/12/26/2326963/red-wings-head-to-minnesota-looking-to-halt-wilds-winning-streakSean Yuille