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Hasek, Red Wings blank rival Avalanche

Jan 9, 2008 - 4:51 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Dominik Hasek showed the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night why he is called "The Dominator."

Facing the only other goaltender to win the Hart Trophy since 1962, Hasek made 19 saves en route to his second consecutive shutout as the Detroit Red Wings posted a 1-0 victory over the rival Avalanche.

Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, who have won four straight and 18 of their last 21 contests.

"It was a low-chance game and obviously, that was a big goal they scored," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. "They're at the top of the league for good reasons. They check as good as any team in the league."

A two-time Hart recipient, Hasek was coming off a 22-save performance in Saturday's 3-0 triumph over the Dallas Stars. He has not surrendered a goal in over 134 minutes of action.

The six-time Vezina Trophy winner turned aside nine shots in the first period, three in the second and seven in third to secure his third shutout of the season and 79th of his career.

"Anytime you get a shutout, you have to thank your teammates," said Hasek, who has assembled a scoreless sequence of 134 minutes, 13 seconds. "To get a shutout, of course everybody must play well. And when you hold the other team under 20 shots, it's obvious that you have played well."

It marked Hasek's fifth regular-season blanking of Colorado. During his Stanley Cup run with the Red Wings in 2002, Hasek posted consecutive shutouts over the Avalanche in Games Six and Seven of the Western Conference finals.

"He was strong and he was soft," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said of Hasek. "The pucks just hit and stuck to him."

Seldom tested through the first two periods, Hasek rose to the occasion in the final session. In the span of a minute midway through, he dropped to his knees to thwart a close-range chance by Milan Hejduk and kicked out Ian Laperriere's slap shot from the slot after a turnover by Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja.

Datsyuk, who was named a starter for the All-Star Game on Tuesday along with teammates Henrik Zetterberg and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, provided all the offense Hasek needed.

"I'm happy," Datsyuk said. "I think we'll have a good time in Atlanta. It's a good surprise, a good (Russian) Christmas."

After Tomas Holmstrom collected the rebound of blue-liner Niklas Kronwall's shot, he delivered a no-look backhand pass across to Datsyuk at the edge of the crease. Datsyuk converted into the open side of the net for his 17th tally of the season, giving Detroit a 1-0 edge with 99 seconds left in the second period.

Hasek's performance overshadowed a solid night by Jose Theodore, who won the Hart in 2002. Theodore stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced.

"Detroit is obviously the best team in the league right now," Theodore said. "They play hard and they play so well defensively."

By appearing in Tuesday's contest, Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios became the second-oldest player in NHL history. At 45 years, 348 days, Chelios surpassed Moe Roberts by one day for the distinction.

"I don't know if it's something that you celebrate, but after talking about it for so long and seeing how proud my family is of the accomplishment, it is a pretty good feeling," Chelios said.

Hall of Famer Gordie Howe holds the record of being the NHL's oldest player, appearing in a game for the Hartford Whalers on April 6, 1980 at 52 years, 6 days.

"If I get to that point, I'll stop one year short of that," Chelios said out of respect for Howe, the man nicknamed "Mr. Hockey" and a Red Wing from 1946-71. "I'm the oldest American-born NHLer, and that's enough for me.

"It's weird that the two oldest players both played for Detroit. There must be something in the Michigan water."