• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Conklin, Datsyuk lead Red Wings past Blue Jackets

Jan 7, 2009 - 6:00 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Ty Conklin is proving to be difficult to score upon at Joe Louis Arena.

Conklin recorded his second straight home shutout and Pavel Datsyuk recorded a goal and two assists to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Conklin, who blanked the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, here on December 30, stopped seven shots in the first period, six in the second and 10 in the third en route to his fourth shutout of the season and eighth career. All four of his blankings this campaign have been posted in "Hockeytown."

"I feel real good, period. I certainly feel a lot more comfortable than when I first got here," Conklin said. "The first couple games, I was tentative and had some butterflies, but now I'm a lot calmer and I feel comfortable behind this team. Hopefully, it works both ways.

"I think we're playing pretty good lately. We're playing well in our own end and we're scoring some goals."

Detroit did all the scoring in the final session.

Datsyuk broke through 3:45 into the third with a power-play tally, and Marian Hossa doubled the advantage just over two minutes later. Henrik Zetterberg capped the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

"I thought Pav was real good and I thought Conks was excellent," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "He didn't have to face a lot of rubber, but he made two or three outstanding saves."

Steve Mason made 37 saves for Columbus, who lost captain Rick Nash in the first period to an ankle injury.

"We battled and gave them everything we've got," Mason said. "We had our chances, we just couldn't take advantage of them."

"He's scary. He's huge and obviously very talented," Babcock said of Mason. "As their team improves and he gets more experience, that's the kind of goaltending you want."

After a pair of scoreless sessions, Detroit got on the board during a man advantage.

Datsyuk made a cross-ice pass and then went to the net, where he picked up a loose puck after a scramble in front and slid it past Mason for his 17th goal of the season.

Hossa made it 2-0 when he beat a screened Mason from the top of the left faceoff circle at 5:59. It was Hossa's 18th goal of the campaign and first in eight games.

"I know they'll come. I'm playing with great players, so it was just a matter of time," Hossa said. "When you go through a stretch like that, you try to keep it simple."

Datsyuk also contributed on Zetterberg's tally. After losing his stick along the boards in front of Detroit's bench, Datsyuk kicked the puck down the ice before Zetterberg buried it into the empty net to seal the Red Wings' fourth straight win.

Columbus has now lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.

"There's nothing to complain about with the effort," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "The guys gave everything they had."