• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Fedorov's shootout goal lifts Blue Jackets over Red Wings

Mar 23, 2007 - 7:01 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Sergei Fedorov came back to haunt the Detroit Red Wings in dramatic fashion.

Fedorov scored in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 triumph over the Red Wings.

Pavel Datsyuk extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and Todd Bertuzzi made his debut for the Red Wings (45-19-10), who remained one point behind the Nashville Predators (47-21-7) for first place in both the Western Conference and Central Division.

Detroit also moved within one point of the idle Buffalo Sabres (47-19-7) in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

After Mikael Samuelsson failed to convert his chance in the sixth round of the bonus format, Fedorov - who spent the first 13 seasons of his career in Detroit - snapped a shot past goaltender Chris Osgood's blocker to seal the win for Columbus.

"Rick Nash scored a pretty sweet goal and (David) Vyborny scored a pretty sweet goal, so it got us to my shot," Fedorov said. "I was excited about that. I didn't really think too much about it, except I knew I was going to put a good shot on net. It happened to be a low blocker (shot). I put it there and it went in."

"It's tough," Osgood said. "(Fedorov) has got a rocket shot. You've got to stay up as long as you can. He just blew it right by me."

Fedorov, a 10-time 30-goal scorer, was booed throughout the contest every time he touched the puck.

"In the business of sports, when you get booed, that means you're a good player," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I've seen Bertuzzi get booed, I've seen (former Detroit captain Steve) Yzerman get booed like crazy in Dallas. (Detroit defenseman Chris) Chelios gets booed everyplace. Good players get booed."

The teams played two scoreless periods before Datsyuk gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 8 1/2 minutes into the third with a slap shot that beat netminder Fredrik Norrena. The tally stretched Datsyuk's career-high points streak to 12 games.

Defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen tied it for the Blue Jackets with 2:42 left in the session, when his slapper from the left point deflected off Red Wings center Robert Lang and past Osgood.

"I was trying to go short side," said Tollefsen, who scored his first career goal in a 5-2 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. "It hit the stick (of Lang) and went in on the short side. I want to get better on the offense, maybe chipping in a little bit now and get the confidence up for next year."

Acquired from Florida at the trade deadline on February 27, Bertuzzi was activated from injured reserve earlier in the day and played on a line with Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom. Appearing in just his eighth game of the season due to back surgery, the power forward did not record a shot on goal and received an interference penalty in nearly 16 1/2 minutes of ice time.

Bertuzzi admitted to being a little rusty in his first appearance since October 18.

"There's a whole list of things to work on," Bertuzzi said. "I need more practice time, more power-play time. I need more work on everything."

Detroit left wing Kyle Calder believes Bertuzzi will be a force for the Red Wings down the stretch and in the playoffs.

"He's a big, physical guy, and that's what he provides," Calder said. "He goes into the corners and comes out with the puck."