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Helm's OT goal pushes Wings past St. Louis

Jan 21, 2011 - 5:33 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Darren Helm scored 1:51 into overtime, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Detroit had a 3-0 lead midway through the game, but allowed the Blues to come all the way back to tie it.

Jimmy Howard, back in net for the Red Wings after missing two games with a bruised right knee, had 26 saves in the win and didn't face a shot in overtime.

"I thought after they tied it, we got going again," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. "We got right back to playing the way we could. It's always a mental thing, it's not like we're asking our guys to get back on their heels like they did. But it turned out to be a good win for us."

Patrick Eaves, Todd Bertuzzi and Jakub Kindl also scored for the Central Division-leading Red Wings, who won for the second time in three games.

T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Backes scored goals to tie the game -- Backes tallied with 5:46 left in regulation -- but the Blues lost for the seventh time in their last nine contests.

"We battled back and we have to learn not to put ourselves in a hole like that, especially against Detroit," Oshie said. "It's tough to dig yourself out. We got close and we got a point, but, obviously you want two points every night."

Jaroslav Halak finished the game with 25 saves for St. Louis, none better than a spectacular sliding stop he made in the final minute of regulation to keep the Blues in the game.

Out of position on the right side of his net, Halak shifted in front just in time to get his left pad on the puck -- it caught his knee first, then rolled off near his foot. Henrik Zetterberg had played the puck in front, where Justin Abdelkader attempted to stuff it home.

However, Halak was unable to stop Helm's one-timer from the slot on a centering pass from Jiri Hudler in overtime.

Still, the game didn't figure to be as close as it was.

Eaves gave Detroit a 1-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first period, scoring on a one-timer in front of the net after Zetterberg spotted him in between two defenders and found him with a centering pass from the end boards.

Bertuzzi found himself alone with an easy chance to score in the second period when Halak dropped to the ice and was looking around for the puck. Bertuzzi, directly to Halak's right, simply lifted the puck into the roof of the net at 7:34 to make it 2-0.

Less than 2 1/2 minutes later, Kindl was also helped by the Blues -- he slid a pass in front of the net that went off St. Louis defenseman Roman Polak for his first career NHL goal.

Oshie got St. Louis on the board with a wrister from the slot at 11:44 of the second. Berglund's one-timer 6:35 into the third fooled Howard because he whiffed slightly, scoring into the upper right corner.

Backes then tied it at 3-3, picking up a loose puck in front and sliding a backhand through Howard's legs.

Game Notes

Detroit snapped a two-game losing streak at Scottrade Center...Howard improved to 5-2-1 lifetime against the Blues...The Red Wings were 0-for-1 on the power play, while St. Louis went 0-for-2.