Detroit Red Wings DetroitRedWings.com presented by AT&T Detroit Red Wings presented by Amway
Click Here to Buy Playoffs Tickets
Email Updates App Text/SMS Updates Twitter Facebook Red Wings TV RSS Feeds
 

Red Wings 5, Blues 1
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Brett Hull's pre-game jersey retirement ceremony wasn't about to put the Red Wings off their game.

Brett Hull, left, hugs his father Bobby as Brett's No. 16 is raised to the rafters in St. Louis. The two are the only father and son duo in major league sports history to have both their numbers retired.
Despite sitting and watching the long ceremony for Hull, who was the star attraction in St. Louis for 11 years but also won a Stanley Cup with Detroit, the Red Wings came out fresh.

Detroit scored two goals in the first four and a half minutes, and had 10 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, in a 5-1 rout of the Blues on Tuesday night.

"We wanted to have a good start after not having moved around for close to 45 minutes," defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We talked about a quick start after that long ceremony."

The pre-game ceremony marking the retirement of the No. 16 sweater Hull wore in St. Louis delayed the start by nearly an hour. But unlike when the Blues ended a franchise-record 13-game losing streak with a victory over Edmonton following the retirement of Al MacInnis' number last season, St. Louis got no such carry-over effect Tuesday in dropping its fifth consecutive game.

"How can you not get ready for tonight's game?" coach Mike Kitchen said. "You just look around. You've got a full building, there's a lot of electricity in the air, and they're not ready to play? Come on."

The Blues have not won since earning a 3-2 shootout victory Nov. 24 at Detroit.

"You know what I see: work ethic," Kitchen said. "How bad do you want it?"

Hull, meeting with reporters in the second period, tried to separate the game from the ceremony. He wasn't sure why the emotion wasn't a motivating factor for the Blues.

"It certainly can be," Hull said. "It also can't be too, obviously."

Pavel Datsyuk had an assist on Henrik Zetterberg's team-leading ninth goal 2:34 into the game and gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead with his fourth goal about 2 minutes later. Daniel Cleary made it three goals on 12 shots later in the first period, chasing goalie Manny Legace.

It was Datsyuk's first goal in 16 games.

The Red Wings had 11 shots on goal before the Blues took their first. The rare near-capacity crowd gave Keith Tkachuk a mock cheer after he took a lazy shot at the Detroit net with 8:08 left in the period for their first shot on goal.

"We did a really good job from the start," Zetterberg said. "The puck went in the net, and it's a little bit easier then."

Jason Bacashihua, who was called up Sunday from the American Hockey League on Sunday for his third stint of the season with the Blues, faced 20 shots.

The lone goal for St. Louis came with 3:24 left in the game on Eric Brewer's first goal of the season, denying Dominik Hasek his second-consecutive and a league-leading fifth shutout.

Notes: Zetterberg's first-period goal extended the Detroit's league-high streak of games in which the team has scored to 146. ...The Red Wings failed to get a shot off in their second power-play opportunity. ... The Blues play at Detroit on Thursday.
Three star selections
1st:   HENRIK ZETTERBERG
2nd:   PAVEL DATSYUK
3rd:   DOMINIK HASEK
Winning Goaltender
Dominik Hasek

Losing Goaltender
Manny Legace

SCHEDULE

HOME
AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

DetroitRedWings.com is the official Web site of the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit Red Wings and DetroitRedWings.com are trademarks of the Detroit Red Wings. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, NHL Conference logos and the word mark NHL Winter Classic are registered trademarks and the NHL Winter Classic logo is a trademark of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2013 Detroit Red Wings and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.
 
Advertise/SponsorshipsOlympia Entertainment | Code of Conduct | Privacy Policy | AdChoices | Employment | Contact Us | NHL.com Terms of Use | Site Map