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Lidstrom's first career hat trick paces Wings over Blues

Dec 16, 2010 - 5:23 AM Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Nicklas Lidstrom played 1,441 games without recording a hat trick, but that all changed on Wednesday night as the Red Wings captain scored three goals and dished out an assist in Detroit's 5-2 victory over St. Louis at Joe Louis Arena.

Danny Cleary had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who have won three of four since a three-game skid. Niklas Kronwall also scored for Detroit, which got 19 saves from Jimmy Howard.

Carlo Colaiacovo and Brad Winchester lit the lamp for the Blues, who have lost two in a row and seven of nine overall. Jaroslav Halak turned aside 32-of-36 shots in defeat.

Following a scoreless first period, Lidstrom put the Red Wings on the board at the 4:02 mark of the second. Henrik Zetterberg led a rush up the ice and slid a pass to the left circle for Lidstrom, whose slap shot beat Halak.

Colaiacovo tied the game just over a minute later. Dave Scatchard slid a pass from the right point to Colaiacovo, whose backhander from the bottom of the right circle got past Howard.

Kronwall's wrister from the top of the left circle gave Detroit a 2-1 lead with 3:53 remaining.

The Red Wings made it 3-1 on Cleary's power-play goal with 2:22 to go in the middle stanza. Lidstrom's one-timer from the point set up a rebound in front for Cleary, who chipped the disc past Halak.

"They did a phenomenal job in the second period," Blues head coach Davis Payne said of the Red Wings. "They created a three-quarters-ice game and had a lot of momentum."

Lidstrom's second goal of the night came on the power play at the 2:46 mark of the third. Zetterberg controlled the puck along the left boards and slid a pass to the point for Lidstrom, whose one-timer beat Halak.

St. Louis responded with a power-play goal of its own at the 6:42 mark. Alexander Steen's shot from the left point was deflected into the back of the net by Winchester for a 4-2 game.

The hats flew onto the ice when Lidstrom scored an empty-net goal with 30 seconds to play.

"It's a great feeling to finally get one. After 19 years and having a lot of opportunities, it's nice to get some bounces," said Lidstrom of the hat trick.

Game Notes

Detroit recorded a 7-3 triumph in St. Louis on November 17. The Blues have dropped five of their last seven in the Motor City...Detroit improved to 12-4-2 as the host this season.