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Osgood, Datsyuk help Wings tame Wild

Jan 4, 2009 - 5:48 AM By Anthony Maggio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- This was the Chris Osgood the Detroit Red Wings wanted to see.

Following an inconsistent start to the season and a seven-game layoff due to a groin injury, Osgood came back on Saturday to stop 33 shots and all three shootout attempts he faced to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal of the bonus format in the first round to give Detroit its sixth victory in its last eight games and Osgood his first win since December 13 at Phoenix.

"I took plenty of time off to make sure I was ready, and I was," Osgood said. "It was a good break for me, mentally and physically, so now I feel like I'm ready to go the second half of the year."

Mikael Samuelsson and Johan Franzen tallied in regulation for Detroit, which has won three straight.

Owen Nolan and Antti Miettinen scored for Minnesota, which earned another point against a division leader after topping San Jose in overtime on Wednesday.

Osgood, who had given up at least three goals in eight of nine starts prior to his injury, is trying to get back to last season's form which saw him post a career-best 2.09 goals-against average and record three shutouts during Detroit's Stanley Cup championship run.

"When you have the start that (Osgood) had this year, he's no dummy, he knows he's got to get rolling here," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "He played like he did last year, and we need him on top of his game."

Josh Harding stopped 35 shots for the Wild.

Osgood shut the door on Minnesota over the first two periods before the Wild scored a pair of goals 16 seconds apart early in the third.

Minnesota was unable to beat him again, however, as Krys Kolanos, defenseman Brent Burns and Mikko Koivu were all turned away in the shootout.

"I felt more comfortable this game than I did the first game of the season for some reason," Osgood said. "It was nice to mentally and physically take a break. The biggest thing for me tonight was not really thinking at all, just pushing off posts, sliding and doing my thing. I felt like I was in the playoffs again."

Datsyuk, whose nine-game points streak came to an end, still helped Osgood come out on top with a jaw-dropping move in the shootout that even Osgood called "unstoppable."

Detroit's scoring leader faked a quick backhander, then faked a wrist shot before pulling back the puck while nearly on top of Harding and flipping it over the flattened goaltender.

"He's done that before, and he made me look goofy out there," Harding said. "He's probably one of the guys that's the best at penalty shots. He made a good move and I just missed it."

Harding was solid all game, but his team still fell behind when Samuelsson gave the Red Wings the upper hand with 3:43 remaining in the first period.

Minnesota failed to score on several strong ensuing chances, but Detroit opened the door with penalties by Daniel Cleary and defenseman Andreas Lilja in the final 89 seconds of the second period. The Red Wings kept the Wild off the scoreboard the remainder of the session, but the Wild struck quickly in the third.

Minnesota won a draw in its own zone with a second remaining on its two-man advantage and Nolan was able to punch home the rebound of Burns' shot four seconds later to knot the contest at 1-1.

Red Wings blue-liner Niklas Kronwall attempted to gain control of the puck in the left faceoff circle 16 seconds later, but it bounced away to Miettinen, who turned and fired a one-timer past Osgood at the 51-second mark to give Minnesota a 2-1 edge.

Detroit regained the momentum after Minnesota committed penalties 2:03 apart, the second of which - a slashing call on Harding - proved costly.

Franzen converted the power-play chance with 4:37 remaining, slapping the puck out of mid-air and into the net after captain Nicklas Lidstrom's shot from the blue line bounced off the glass and back in front of the crease.

Officials initially waved off the goal, claiming the puck was hit with a high stick. But the call was overturned after a brief video review.

"I had no clue, but when they disallowed it right away, I thought it was going to be tough to get," Franzen said. "I thought it was right around the crossbar, but I didn't know."

Lidstrom and fellow defenseman Brian Rafalski both assisted on the goal, with Rafalski and Franzen both extending their points streaks to four games.

Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire hoped for a better outcome to the shootout but still was happy with his team's performance the last two games.

"I feel better with what the team can do," Lemaire said. "Now it shows that we're playing better as a team, and that means we have a chance to win."

Nolan's goal was his seventh of the season, fifth on the power play and second in as many games since missing 10 contests due to injury.