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Lidstrom looks to lead Red Wings to second straight win

Oct 11, 2006 - 2:41 PM Phoenix (1-2-0) at Detroit (1-1-0) 7:30 pm EDT

DETROIT (Ticker) -- Reigning Norris Trophy winner Niklas Lidstrom prefers to lead by example as the new captain of the Detroit Red Wings.

Lidstrom tries to guide the Red Wings to their second consecutive victory Wednesday when they host the Phoenix Coyotes in the first of four meetings this season.

After Steve Yzerman ended his 20-year tenure as captain by retiring in the offseason, the Red Wings turned to Lidstrom. The 36-year-old defenseman has won the Norris Trophy four times, led Detroit to three Stanley Cup titles and helped Sweden win an Olympic gold medal February at Torino.

Detroit followed its season-opening loss to the Vancouver Canucks with Saturday's 2-0 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Dominik Hasek made 13 saves for his 69th career shutout, Kris Draper and Johan Franzen scored their first goals of the campaign and Lidstrom had an assist.

The Red Wings have held their two opponents to just 30 shots on goal.

Phoenix opened the season with a victory over the New York Islanders before absorbing back-to-back losses to the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Coyotes are playing the second contest of a four-game road trip.

Ed Jovanovski scored his first tally of the season for Phoenix, which surrendered the final four goals in Monday's 5-1 defeat to Columbus.

The teams split their four encounters last season. Phoenix posted a 5-2 triumph over Detroit in their previous contest on March 7.