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Samuelsson tallies twice on power play as Red Wings top Thrashers

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:59 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Mikael Samuelsson and the power-play unit of the Detroit Red Wings already are in midseason form.

Samuelsson scored twice with the man advantage and 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg added a goal and two assists to lead the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings to a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers in a preseason matchup on Wednesday.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom returned to the ice for the first time since breaking his nose in the preseason opener against the Montreal Canadiens and dished out two assists for Detroit, which improved to 3-1-2 in the preseason.

The Red Wings, who finished third in the league last season on the power play, wasted no time capitalizing with the man advantage in this one as Samuelsson blasted a slap shot from the right faceoff circle past goaltender Kari Lehtonen just 1:45 into the first period.

The 31-year-old right wing also converted on the power play at 8:10 of the second period, blasting a shot from above the right circle over the shoulder of Lehtonen to give Detroit a 3-1 lead.

Zetterberg netted the Red Wings' second goal, snapping a 1-1 tie by stealing Lehtonen's pass from behind the net and burying it with 5:19 remaining in the first. Johan Franzen added an empty-net goal with 70 seconds left in the third.

Chris Osgood turned aside 25 shots for Detroit, which has three games remaining on its preseason slate. Former Thrasher Marian Hossa did not make the trip to Atlanta.

Erik Christensen scored the Thrashers' lone goal, beating Osgood with a deke before depositing the puck in the net on the backhand at 9:59 of the first.

Lehtonen stopped 32 shots for Atlanta, which failed to record a victory in new coach John Anderson's debut at Philips Arena.