Red Wings 5, Ducks 0

DETROIT – From a season-low to a season-high – that’s the difference one game made for the Red Wings Saturday night.

In Thursday’s 4-1 loss to Calgary, the Wings were limited to a season-low 29 shots. Amazing what difference a day will make.

Saturday the Wings peppered 50 shots at the Anaheim goal en route to scoring nearly as many goals as they had in the previous six games, beating the Ducks, 5-0, and snapping a six-game winless streak.

“I thought we had great effort for 60-minutes,” said Nicklas Lidstrom, who had two goals and an assist. “I thought we stuck with it, even after the first period when we were up 1-0. We told ourselves that we had to stick with the game plan, and keep shooting the puck and keep spending time in their zone, and I thought we were able to do that tonight.”

The Wings had 17 different players post at least one shot, and eight with three or more, including Tomas Holmstrom, who had six, and Danny Cleary and Darren Helm with five each.

“Obviously, we needed a win badly,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “It was nice to see some guys score some goals so you can get the weight of the world off your back and now you can get on with having a good homestand.”

The Wings (6-5-1) have three more home games – against Colorado, Edmonton and Dallas – before they head out on a four-game trip out west.

Detroit’s other goals came from Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen.

Meanwhile, Howard earned his second shutout – and the team’s third – stopping all 22 shots that he faced.

“The guys did a great job. We knew it was upon us,” Howard said. “We knew the talent was in this dressing room to get it done. I was just going out there and working hard for them for the full 60 minutes.”

The Wings had great jump from the opening face-off, out-shooting the Ducks, 16-1, to start the game. Detroit even had nine shots on its first two power-plays of the game. Still, after collecting 18 shots – their highest first period total of the season – the Wings only had a one-goal lead at the first intermission.

“That’s when we said in here, ‘You have to stay with it,’ ” Lidstrom said. “ ‘We’re doing a lot of good things. We have to get some more chances.’ And I think we did that too.”

Zetterberg put the Wings up 2-0 at 1:55 of the second period. And less than a minute later Lidstrom scored his first of the night.

“The first one I just tried to shoot it far side on the ice, hoping to hit something,” Lidstrom said. “I couldn’t get it short side where I wanted it first. The guy was taking that away, so I think I got a lucky bounce and it went in.”

Lidstrom’s second goal came on the power-play with Holmstrom pestering Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller at 1:39 of the third.

“And on the power-play, Homer was doing what Homer does best – standing there and bugging the goalie,” Lidstrom said. “I don’t think (Hiller) saw the puck at all.”

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