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  Friday, Jan. 28 7:30pm ET
Resurgent Wings get another win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

DETROIT (AP) -- Nicklas Lidstrom has long been recognized as one of the NHL's best defensemen. Lately, he's been a goal scorer, too.

Lidstrom and Pat Verbeek scored power-play goals 26 seconds apart in the second period as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Friday night.

Phil Housley
Calgary's Phil Housley tries to avoid Detroit's Mathieu Dandenault during the first period Friday.
Lidstrom has four goals in his last three games. His 13 goals rank fourth on the Red Wings behind their top line of Verbeek, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan.

Verbeek's goal was his seventh in eight games. The Red Wings are 15-0-4 when Verbeek, signed as a free agent Nov. 10, has a point.

Sergei Fedorov and Shanahan also scored goals and Igor Larionov had two assists for the Red Wings, who have won three straight after an 0-3-2 slide. One of those losses was a 6-1 pasting Jan. 18 at Calgary, which had won its last five games with Detroit.

"They really took it to us the last five games," said Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood, whose shutout bid was spoiled with 5:04 remaining when Marc Savard lifted a shot over his left shoulder. "Tonight we were patient and played a good 60-minute game."

But it wasn't until the two power-play goals that either team controlled the game.

"We thought we'd have to be patient because they don't really give up a lot of chances," said Yzerman. "That's why it was important to get the two power-play goals."

Flames coach Brian Sutter said the Red Wings, in effect, scored on three power play goals since Fedorov's goal, which opened the scoring 9:28 into the second period, came just after another Calgary penalty expired.

"I thought we did a real good job in the first period," said Sutter. "We talked about a few things and then the first two power-play goals they scored were on the exact same things we said 'boys, we can't allow.'"

Osgood made 22 saves in his third straight win.

"He's a good goalie, but we have to create more traffic in front of him and throw the puck at the net," said Calgary's Valeri Bure. "Tonight there weren't many where he didn't see the puck, and he'll usually stop the first shot."

Osgood is 3-0-1 in his last four games since he was 1-5-1 in his first seven starts after returning from a broken hand last month.

"Now I feel as if I've been playing all the time," said Osgood.

Fred Brathwaite made 32 saves for the Flames. He stopped 28 shots in the Jan. 18 win over Detroit.

"Maybe they brought their game higher," said Brathwaite. "We beat them 6-1 at home, they wanted some revenge and wanted to embarrass us. They came out with a couple more chances and capitalized."

Lidstrom scored 17:08 into the second after Larionov drew Brathwaite to the left side of the crease. The goalie couldn't recover as Lidstrom fired Larionov's cross-ice pass into an open net.

The Flames drew a bench minor after the score, and 26 seconds later Verbeek redirected Shanahan's shot past Brathwaite.

"I thought they were skating and creating things," said Sutter. "When that's going on, you have to fight your way through it. You can't have any guys not totally at the top of their games."

Fedorov scored shortly after Osgood made a great save on Martin St. Louis' shorthanded breakaway. Fedorov, who ended an 11-game scoring drought Wednesday, converted a pass in front from Larionov five seconds after a penalty to Calgary's Wade Belak expired.

After Savard's goal, Shanahan got his 27th when he pushed in a shot from Steve Yzerman that already went through Brathwaite's legs in the crease to finish the scoring with 2:08 left.

 


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