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DETROIT -- Tomas Holmstrom and Manny Legace helped the
Detroit Red Wings do what few teams have been able to do lately
- slow down the Columbus Blue Jackets. Holmstrom scored the lone goal of the shootout and Legace
stopped all five attempts that came his way as the Red Wings
posted a 6-5 triumph over the Blue Jackets, whose franchise-best
winning streak was stopped at six games. After 10 goals were scored in regulation, including eight in the
final two periods, it was stunning that Osgood and counterpart
Marc Denis combined to deny the first 10 attempts in the
shootout. "It was one of those nights. It's hard to fault Manny," Red
Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I don't even know how much
(offense) they generated. We just passed it to them and they
shot it. I thought Manny did a good job in the shootout and so
did Denis." Legace had stopped just five of 12 previous shootout attempts
before Friday's impressive effort against the Blue Jackets. "It's nerve-wracking, especially after you've played awful in
net during the night and then have a shootout," said Legace, who
finished with 18 saves. The lone skater to break through in the bonus format was
Holmstrom, who put several dekes on Denis before roofing a
backhander just under the crossbar to seal Detroit's fifth win
in six games. "I didn't play overtime, so you're sitting there waiting,"
Holmstrom said. "It's a little bit tight but you just try to be
loose and do your thing." The Red Wings initially took a 4-1 lead behind second-period
goals by defenseman Niklas Kronvall, Brendan Shanahan and Jason
Williams. Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant took a timeout and
his team responded with two quick tallies to make it 4-3 before
Rick Nash netted his second goal of the game early in the third
period to forge a 4-4 tie. "We showed our character coming back," Gallant said. "I wish
we'd won tonight to make it seven games, but we got the next
best thing." Kris Draper put Detroit ahead, 5-4, with 11:55 remaining in the
third period. The lead appeared as if it would stand before
Nash completed his first career hat trick with 32 seconds left,
scoring from the slot following a turnover by Kronvall. "Drapes scored a big goal there," Babcock said. "I thought that
was going to be the winner, but we turned the puck over one more
time to get to the shootout." Red Wings superstar Henrik Zetterberg was taken to the hospital
after suffering an upper-body injury late in the second period
and did not return. "For sure, we missed him," Holmstrom said. "Hopefully he comes
back for tomorrow."
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