Red Wings Edge Past Stars In Shootout
DALLAS (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings are nearly unbeatable at home. On the road -- not so much.
Jiri Hudler scored in the second round of the shootout, Detroit's Ty Conklin was perfect in all three rounds, and the Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Tuesday night for two rare road points.
The Red Wings are an NHL-best 18-2-1 at home, and have won a franchise-record 15 straight at Joe Louis Arena. But Detroit is 12-13 on the road, and had gone 2-5 in its seven previous away games.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock wanted a more competitive road effort, and that's exactly what he got.
"We talked a lot about that today," Babcock said. "We're averaging 1.7 (goals-against) at home and 2.7 against on the road. You can't win without checking. It's impossible. You can't outscore your mistakes. You've got to be diligent without the puck if you're going to have success."
Hudler used a nifty move to fake rookie Richard Bachman out of position, and backhanded the puck into the right side of the net.
"It's always nice when you score on a move like this," Hudler said. "I faked a shot, the puck stopped for a little second, and then there was an open net there. I thought he got the puck, but he didn't expect that. I was lucky."
Conklin denied Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder, and Trevor Daley missed the net in the final round of the shootout to give the Red Wings the extra point.
Bachman got a break when Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk had his shot clang off the crossbar in the first round.
Brenden Morrow and Eriksson scored in regulation for Dallas, 1-3-1 in its last five.
Tomas Holmstrom and Hudler had regulation goals for Detroit, which has won four straight, including a 5-0 home win over Buffalo on Monday.
Bachman made 30 saves and went beyond regulation for the first time in his 11 NHL games.
"We knew it was going to be a tight third (period), and I just wanted to do whatever I could to just give the team a chance to win," Bachman said. "I would have liked to see things go the other way, but the guys worked hard."
Conklin stopped 25 shots in his ninth game of the season, giving regular starter Jimmy Howard the night off.
Conklin had started only three of the previous 20 games, but he was sharp against Dallas.
"I felt good throughout the game," Conklin said. "You know your role on the team and try to control your mental errors. It's nice to be able to contribute."
The Stars were without their top two centers, All-Star Jamie Benn (appendectomy) and Mike Ribeiro (knee).
Holmstrom gave the Wings a 1-0 lead at 6:41 of the opening period. He was alone in the high slot, and his one-timer beat Bachman for his eighth goal of the season.
Morrow drew Dallas even on the power play at 10:59 when he tipped Alex Goligoski's shot between Conklin's pads for his eighth goal.
Eriksson chipped a rebound past Conklin, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead at 16:28 of the first with his 17th of the season.
Hudler was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce when his pass glanced off Goligoski's skate and went into the net at 1:43 of the second to tie it for Hudler's 13th goal.
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