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Hasek has easy night as Red Wings blank Penguins

Oct 8, 2006 - 2:41 AM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Dominik Hasek did not have to dominate in order to shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hasek needed to make just 13 saves and Johan Franzen and Kris Draper scored goals as the Detroit Red Wings posted a 2-0 victory over the Penguins.

A six-time Vezina Trophy winner, Hasek recorded one of the easiest of his 69 career shutouts in helping the Red Wings to their first win. The 41-year-old Czech, who helped Detroit capture the Stanley Cup in 2002, made six saves in both the first and third periods while steering aside the only shot he faced in the middle session for his second career blanking of Pittsburgh.

"That was fine defense by my teammates," Hasek said. "They did an excellent job, but I had to stay sharp because it was still only 1-0 for almost 59 minutes. One goal (allowed) and the game could be completely different."

Franzen provided the only offense needed by the Red Wings six minutes into the game and Draper added an insurance tally late in the third.

"We wanted this win," Franzen said. "We did the small things to win. We didn't have as much fancy play, we just played hard. When you don't let up many shots like we did today, that's good defense."

"It was nice to get a win here," Draper added. "This was a pretty solid effort all around. We got into a little bit of a zone early. ... We had some breakdowns, but when we did, (Hasek) was there for us. Over a 60-minute game, we're going to give up some scoring opportunities, so you want your goalie to do what he did."

New captain Nicklas Lidstrom picked up an assist for Detroit, which has scored a total of three goals in its first two games.

"We have a lot more to give offensively than we've shown the first two games," Red Wings defenseman Mathieu Schneider said.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots for the Penguins, who had won four of their previous six home meetings with the Red Wings.

"It's always my job to stop the puck," Fleury said. "I can't worry about how many goals we score. ... I just have to forget about it and just keep playing hard."

From the left point, Lidstrom made a cross-ice pass that caromed off the right wing boards. Jason Williams one-timed it to the net and Franzen knocked in the rebound from the doorstep for a 1-0 lead.

It remained a one-goal game until Robert Lang and Mikael Samuelsson set up Draper with 81 seconds to go in the contest.

"It was an exceptional play by Samuelsson and Lang," Babcock said. "They kept it down there and the were worn out. Then Draper came on (on a line change) and fired. It was a great goal."

Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien was not impressed with his team's effort.

"I think some of the guys could have been better, and they didn't give us the effort we need to win a hockey game," he said. "It was a different game tonight, but in a different game, we have to find a way. We didn't find that way. ... Our power play's got to be a lot better and we have to use our speed more."