Red Wings tame Wild for sixth straight victory

The Detroit Red Wings always seem to have a knack for picking up their level of play later in the season, and this year appears to be no exception.  The Wings used a 3 goal second period to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Thursday night.  The victory was the team’s six straight and came despite a rash of injuries that depleted their ranks of healthy forwards.

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Mikael Samuelsson opening the scoring for Detroit with his 15th goal at the 9:26 mark.  Minnesota would answer a few minutes later with Brent Burns’ 8th goal of the year to send the teams into the dressing room deadlocked at 1-1.  Detroit would take over the game in the second, when Jiri Hudler and Kris Draper scored :50 apart to stake the Red Wings to a 3-1 lead.  Ville Leino’s tally late in the frame made the score 4-1 heading into the final period.  The Wild’s Mikko Koivu would score a shorthanded goal late in the game to make the final score more respectable at 4-2.

Despite the injuries, Detroit’s offense kept the pressure on Minnesota throughout and finished with an overwhelming 43-23 shots on goal advantage.  The Red Wings have had little trouble with the Wild in recent years, and the victory on Thursday improved their record to 10-0-2 in the last twelve meetings between the two teams.

Wings goalie Chris Osgood has struggled at times this year, but has looked sharp recently.  He contributes his improved play to a sharper mental game:

"It's more mental than anything else. I'm going out there now without the weight of the world on my shoulders. As an athlete you have high expectations for yourself."

Detroit’s Marian Hossa continued his productive play with two assists.  He now has 21 points in his last 18 games, and credited the victory to creative offensive play:

"In the second we took over and we played creative. We got the three-goal lead. In the third period, we just controlled the game."

The Red Wings are currently in a neck-and-neck battle with the San Jose Sharks for the best record in the Western Conference.  After Thursday’s victory, they trailed the Sharks by a single point.  The Wings will play at Washington on Friday night before returning home for games on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche and Tuesday against the Nashville Predators.  Minnesota, meanwhile, has a very precarious grasp on the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  They’ll play their next three games at home, with Ottawa coming to town on Saturday night followed by Calgary on Wednesday and a rematch against the Red Wings next Saturday.