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DETROIT (AP) -- Pat Verbeek had a far easier time scoring his 500th goal than he did describing it.
Verbeek became the 28th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, scoring twice in the Detroit Red Wings' 2-2 tie with the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. He has 22 goals since joining the Red Wings as a free agent Nov. 10.
|  | | Flames goalie Fred Brathwaite kept his team in the game, impressing Wings coach Scotty Bowman in the process. |
"I'm just out of words. It's exciting," said Verbeek, who helped the Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup last season. "You start the year with a new team and wonder if they believe in you."
Verbeek reached scored No. 500 with 5:22 remaining in the third period, tying the game by taking a pass from Steve Yzerman and firing the puck past goalie Fred Brathwaite from the left circle.
"If you like those goals, it's good, it was worth something," Verbeek said. "It tied the game."
Brathwaite said he couldn't recover from Yzerman's pass.
"I didn't see the pass go through," Brathwaite said. "I was looking around and the next thing I knew it was on Verbeek's stick. I tried to come over. The first time he beat me low, so I tried to come across low and he put it under the bar."
Detroit coach Scotty Bowman credited Brathwaite, who made 30 saves, with keeping the Flames in the game.
"I just thought we had a lot of chances, but their guy had a good game," Bowman said. "Actually he had some miraculous saves."
Flames coach Brian Suter praised Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood, who made 31 saves.
"I had to laugh after the second period because they thought they had a lot of scoring chances and Freddie played well," Sutter said. "I thought Mr. Osgood made some unbelievable saves in the second period."
Verbeek opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period. He took a pass from Nicklas Lidstrom just outside the crease and slid a shot under Brathwaite's legs.
Lidstrom also assisted on Verbeek's tying goal. The defenseman has scored or assisted on 19 of Detroit's last 30 goals.
Verbeek just missed another score when a point-blank shot glanced off Brathwaite's pad and shoulder.
"I had numerous chances in the second period," Verbeek said. "But he made some great saves."
The Red Wings fell six points behind St. Louis for the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Blues beat Carolina 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Darryl Shannon and Brad Werenka scored for Calgary, which was 2-1-1 against Detroit this season. The Flames began the night five points out of the final Western playoff slot.
"We're not a team that's going to hang 'em up. We never have all year," Sutter said. "We've been this close all year, so there's no difference. Every point is vital. The point tonight was very important, very, very important."
Werenka's first goal in 31 games gave the Flames a 2-1 lead with 8:25 remaining in regulation. His shot from the point deflected off Nicklas Lidstrom and over Osgood.
Shannon tied it midway through the second period, scoring off of Jarome Iginla's cross-ice pass.
Red Wings star forward Brendan Shanahan missed the game because of the flu.
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 Fred Brathwaite stops Kirk Maltby's shot just short of the goal line.
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