Datsyuk lifts Wings with goal in final seconds
Pavel Datsyuk scored with 12 seconds left in the game to give the Detroit Red Wings a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
Detroit pressured the Ducks for much of the last few minutes, finally breaking through when Datsyuk gathered a loose puck in the circle to the left of the net, deked his way past former Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja, and beat goalie Curtis McElhinney with a high shot toward the right side of the goal.
The Red Wings rallied from a 3-1 second-period deficit and trailed 4-3 in the third after Anaheim's Teemu Selanne scored with 11:28 remaining. Selanne's goal was the 610th of his career, tying Bobby Hull for 15th on the NHL's career list.
Henrik Zetterberg had two goals and two assists for Detroit, including the tying goal with 8:43 left.
Detroit beat Anaheim 4-0 in the season opener, a game that was so chippy even Datsyuk, a four-time Lady Byng trophy winner, dropped the gloves and threw punches. There were hardly any penalties in this one, and Datsyuk made a more important impact.
Ryan Carter and Danny Syvret scored 34 seconds apart in the second period to give Anaheim a 3-1 lead. Syvret's shot was ruled a goal after it hit the right post and ricocheted toward the upper-left corner. Replays showed it was a close call, but the goal stood after a review.
The two-goal deficit seemed to energize Detroit. Johan Franzen scored with 9:37 remaining in the period, finally jamming the puck home after twice being denied by McElhinney's left leg. Tomas Holmstrom then tied it with a nifty deflection from high in the slot on Brad Stuart's shot from the blue line.
Selanne put the Ducks back ahead in the third, taking the puck along the boards near his own blue line and skating down the right wing before beating goalie Jimmy Howard between the legs from a tough angle.
Zetterberg evened things again on a deflection from the slot and nearly had a hat trick when his booming shot with just over three minutes remaining was stopped by McElhinney.
McElhinney made 36 saves. He stopped 40 shots in his first start of the season for Anaheim, a 3-2 win over Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Ducks entered the game averaging 24 minutes, 30 seconds a game in penalties, and they were whistled for three minors in the first 9:19. Anaheim was fortunate to escape the first period with a 1-1 tie after being outshot 14-6.
Anaheim was called for three penalties and Detroit one in the first period. Neither team went to the box the rest of the game.
Zetterberg scored on his team's second power play, slapping a shot past McElhinney from the top of the circle. Bobby Ryan tied it for Anaheim with 21.8 seconds left in the first. The Ducks nearly took the lead early in the second when Saku Koivu sent a shot ringing off the right post.
