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Zetterberg scores shootout clincher for Red Wings

Jan 10, 2007 - 6:37 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- After opening the scoring, Henrik Zetterberg closed the contest with a subtle goal for the Detroit Red Wings.

Zetterberg scored the shootout clincher and also tallied in regulation to lead the Red Wings to a 4-3 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche.

Robert Lang and Pavel Datsyuk each added their 11th tallies for the Red Wings, who snapped a three-game losing streak with their first shootout victory in four tries this season. Detroit also beat Colorado for a seventh straight time.

"I thought we played real well," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "You had every opportunity in the world and still they were winning 3-2 in the third. It was a lot like (Sunday's) game in Anaheim. We had a lot of opportunity and we were unable to get it done in the end. Today we were, so that's a positive for us."

Datsyuk gave Detroit an edge after the second round of the shootout before Colorado captain Joe Sakic, named to his 13th All-Star team earlier Tuesday, answered by lifting a backhander over goaltender Dominik Hasek's left pad.

However, Zetterberg sealed the win by skating toward the left goalpost before reaching back with his right hand to slowly slide the puck past netminder Peter Budaj.

"It's advantage for me to be the third shooter," Zetterberg said. "You kind of look at what kind of style the goalie is and how he moves on the ice. When I saw the first two penalty shots, I decided that I was going to do that."

"It's tough for the goalie," Hasek said. "It looks like he makes a fool of the goalie, but he makes a good move and it's not the first time he scored like that. You can not blame the goalie. It's a pretty move from Henrik."

Milan Hejduk recorded his 500th career point at 3:47 of the third period with his 14th goal on a wrister from the right faceoff circle that got past Hasek's blocker to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead.

"I think they were the better team, especially in the third and overtime," Hejduk said. "They were all over us a lot of times in our zone. ... It didn't seem like it was our best game. We gave them too much room and they skated with the puck."

Lang tied the score for Detroit on a power play just 85 seconds later by sliding Mikael Samuelsson's cross-ice pass by Budaj's right pad for his 11th tally.

"We battled hard, even when they were up by a goal," Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We stuck with it and battled hard. I thought we deserved the two points tonight."

Zetterberg netted his 17th goal on a power play in the first period and Hasek made 22 saves to raise his record to 22-7-3.

Ben Guite tallied for the first time in his career, Wojtek Wolski added his 15th and Budaj stopped 40 shots for Colorado, which had a three-game winning streak stopped.

"(Budaj) was outstanding," Sakic said. "They tested him a lot of times, and they had some great scoring chances. He came up big to give us a chance for that point."

"They had the puck a lot," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "They had a strong third period and we couldn't get the puck out of our end very well. But we did some good things, too. Peter was remarkable in the net. We'll take the point."