Zetterberg's hat trick lifts Red Wings over Blues

Henrik Zetterberg made sure the Detroit Red Wings didn't let this game with the St. Louis Blues get away from them.

The Red Wings avenged an embarrassing opening-night loss by defeating the red-hot Blues 5-3 on Friday night -- and Zetterberg, Detroit's new captain, had a hat trick and two assists.

Detroit lost 6-0 at St. Louis on Jan. 19 and was in danger of blowing a 2-0 lead before rallying with the see-saw game's final three goals. The Red Wings had 30 shots on goal after managing only 14 in the opener.

"We weren't happy about our effort in their building and we had a chance to kind of bounce back today," Zetterberg said. "It’s nice to see we played the way we did, especially when they got ahead and we found a way to get back and get the win."

With the Blues killing off a match penalty to David Backes for a blow to the head of Kent Huskins, Pavel Datsyuk gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead when his shot from the right-wing side made it through a screen set by Johan Franzen at 11:55 of the third.

"I'm not going to comment on that [penalty]. It was a big turning point and it turned out being the turning point of the game," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said.

Jonathan Ericsson's first goal of the season tied it 3-3 at 4:31 of the third. He converted a feed from Zetterberg -- his second assist to go along with the game's first two goals.

Zetterberg completed the hat trick with an empty-net shorthanded goal scored from his stomach while fighting off two Blues for the puck in the crease. He did not practice Thursday because he was not feeling well.

"If I had been out for a day like that I would be struggling to skate," Ericsson said. "And he was flying out there. I don’t know how he does it."

Zetterberg has 12 points during a six-game points streak; Datsyuk has nine over the same period as the Wings learn to adapt without retired former captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom.

"Sometimes it's nice to have two days off, and especially with a schedule like this," Zetterberg said. "I got a little extra rest, so I can't complain today."

The tying and winning goals came against Brian Elliott, who came on in relief of injured Blues starter Jaroslav Halak.

Halak was hit in the mask late in the first period, an impact that cut his upper lip. After playing for another four minutes, Halak left the game with 3:37 to go in the period.

Jimmy Howard made 23 saves for the Red Wings.

St. Louis (6-2-0) had its four-game winning streak snapped. Detroit (4-2-1) won consecutive games for the first time this season.

Patrick Berglund gave the Blues a 3-2 lead 4:30 into the second period with a power-play goal on a bouncing puck that he knocked home from about a foot off the ice.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the first 8:07 on a pair of goals by Zetterberg, the first during a 5-on-3 power play on a feed from Damien Brunner, the second less than two minutes later on a breakaway created by a long outlet pass from Ericsson.

But St. Louis tied it 2-2 before the end of the period. Kevin Shattenkirk's power-play goal bounced in off the post at 9:50, and Matt D'Agostini's first of the season on a partial breakaway came at 13:04.

"We definitely did a good job coming back. From there it was anybody's game," Shattenkirk said.

The Blues were playing on back-to-back nights after three days off before a 4-1 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Material from team media and wire services was used in this report