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Red Wings get rare win in New Jersey

Dec 12, 2010 - 5:36 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Pavel Datsyuk tallied a goal and two assists as Detroit got a rare win in New Jersey, beating the Devils by a 4-1 score at Prudential Center.

Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom both finished with a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who have won only twice in the last 10 games as a visitor in the Garden State. They also picked up their second straight victory after dropping a season-high three decisions.

Dan Cleary notched the other goal, while Chris Osgood stopped 33 shots in the win.

Patrik Elias posted the lone goal for the Devils, who have lost five straight games. Martin Brodeur stopped 19-of-23 shots in his second game back after missing eight contests with a bruised elbow.

"I'm feeling pretty good out there," Brodeur said of his elbow. "I think it was a long layoff for me. It was definitely longer than small injuries you get during the season."

Detroit attacked quickly with two goals during the first two minutes of the contest.

The first came only 28 seconds in after Datsyuk ripped a shot from the right point. Holmstrom deflected the puck on its way toward the net and it ricocheted off the crossbar into Brodeur's back, trickling past the goal line.

A little over a minute later, Todd Bertuzzi found a streaking Cleary down the left side. He took it into the offensive zone and wristed a shot from the left circle that sailed past Brodeur's glove for an early 2-0 lead.

"It was very early in the game. If they get just one goal, they're right back in it," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "You can't relax and you can't take anything for granted. We had to continue to skate too. I thought we had a little letdown midway through the first period, but we started skating again in the second."

The game was blown open at the 11:37 mark of the middle stanza when Zetterberg scored after Brodeur stopped shots from Holmstrom and Datsyuk. Zetterberg was able to collect Holmstrom's blocked shot and wristed it from the slot for a 3-0 lead.

The Devils finally got some offense 39 seconds in the third period on an Elias power-play goal, making it 3-1. Elias' goal came from a Travis Zajac feed. Osgood allowed the tally after stopping 25 shots through the first 40 minutes of play.

Detroit reclaimed its three-goal lead midway through the third after Zetterberg beat the New Jersey defense on a dumped puck and centered it in the slot to Datsyuk, who took it to his backhand and beat Brodeur.

Game Notes

The loss began a three-game homestand for the Devils...Johan Franzen had his five-game point streak snapped. During the span he had three goals and three assists...New Jersey was 1-for-5 on the man advantage, while Detroit was 0- for-3.