The Ducks kept finding ways to tie up Saturday night's contest, until one of the Wings' leaders stepped up in the third period. Assistant captain
Henrik Zetterberg scored three goals in the third period to guide the Wings to a 7-4 win. His empty-net goal with less then a second remaining iced the game for the Wings, after
Darren Helm had made it 6-4 with 2:15 remaining.
Zetterberg's career night makes him Saturday's Hockeytown Hero. The Wings' forward had two assists to add to his hat trick, which was the first five-point game of his NHL career. Zetterberg skated for 22:47 (most of any forward), and he had seven shots on goal. The only downside to Zetterberg's night? All the hats the fans threw on the ice to honor his fourth career hat trick delayed the post-game celebration.
Three starts in a row for
Jimmy Howard, and three wins at the same time. The Wings young goaltender is starting to establish himself as a credible back-up for goaltender
Chris Osgood. Howard made 19 saves Saturday night, and while his goals-against doesn't look as impressive as other nights, he got the job done.
The Wings outshot the Ducks 37-23, peppering goaltender Jonas Hiller all night. In the first period, the Wings had 17 to Anaheim's six. It got the Wings off to a great start, and that helped get the win.
After the game, Zetterberg talked about how he didn't get discouraged after having five shots in the first period and nothing to show for it:
"I had a lot of chances, especially in the first…five shots on that one shift. And I just gotta keep going. Got that pass from (Cleary), and it ended up in the net, so it was nice to finally get one."
Before the game, the Wings honored captain
Nicklas Lidstrom for his career achievement of 1,000 points. A tribute video played on the jumbotron, and Lidstrom's family came out to congratulate him, along with NHL senior vice president Jim Gregory and Wings' GM Ken Holland.
The Wings continue their homestand when they welcome the Dallas Stars to Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday night. Get tickets by
CLICKING HERE.
