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Guerin scores in overtime as Blues beat Red Wings

Jan 27, 2007 - 4:56 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- After playing in his fourth All-Star game, Bill Guerin picked up where he left off with the St. Louis Blues.

Guerin netted his 21st goal of the season in overtime and Ryan Johnson added his fifth for the Blues, who won for the seventh time in eight games with a 2-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings.

In defeating the Red Wings for the second time in five matchups this season, St. Louis snapped an 11-game home winless streak against Detroit dating to April 13, 2002, and improved to 13-2-2 in its last 17 contests.

"It's not going to be a Picasso every night," Guerin said. "We didn't play great for 40 minutes but we came back in the third (period) and played real solid. We just stuck with it. We're going to have to do that some nights. You're not always going to win by two or three goals."

Guerin, who netted the eventual game-winning goal Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, needed just 1:09 of the extra session to snap home a rebound of Doug Weight's shot off goaltender Chris Osgood's arm.

"Funny things happen sometimes when you put the puck on the net," Guerin said. "If you don't get it, somebody else might. Lately we've been passing up too many shots and too many opportunities to put that puck in there. Sometimes weird things happen."

"It was a struggle for most of the game for us," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "We found a way to get the win. It was certainly a struggle. We have a pretty strong belief system right now. And when you believe, you stick with it. You stay persistent."

St. Louis opened the scoring at 8:03 of the second period as Johnson flipped a backhander of Jamal Mayers' rebound past Osgood's left pad for his fifth goal of the season.

"You have to give them their due," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "You have to give them credit. They've been playing well. They played hard and were organized."

Detroit tied the score just 1:56 later when Johan Franzen chipped a bouncing puck inside the left goalpost behind netminder Manny Legace for his sixth tally.

Legace made 28 saves and raised his record to 17-12-5 for St. Louis.

"They just come at you in waves," Legace said. "That's what (has) made them a great hockey team the past 10 to 15 years. And they're getting solid goaltending this year again. They're a tough team to play. You have to weather their storm."

Osgood stopped 18 shots for Detroit, which has dropped three straight games.

"St. Louis plays a tough game," Osgood said. "They're a different team now than what they used to be. They really take away the inside and make it tough to get to the net."

"We didn't capitalize offensively and that's just the way it is," Babcock said. "I was pleased with their effort. We got good minutes out of everybody. We had every opportunity and we had some good chances there, and the puck just didn't go in for us."

Tomas Holmstrom momentarily thought he had given Detroit a 1-0 lead in the first period before the officials ruled he knocked the puck down while his stick was above the crossbar.