DETROIT -- After playing two subpar games in a row, the Red Wings changed things up Saturday, leading to a re-energized power play, a rejuvenated Todd Bertuzzi and a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Joe Louis Arena.
Bertuzzi, playing on Detroit’s first line with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, was a force all night and scored the Wings' first power-play goal of the season, early in the first period, to give them a lead they would never relinquish.
“When you haven’t scored on the power play (0 for 10 heading into tonight’s game) and you have that many weapons, it does get frustrating at times,” Bertuzzi said. “We’ve done our fair share of (watching) video, and it’s just a matter of winning the battles down low, getting the puck and shooting the puck.
“I’ve been off and on (the power-play unit) sparingly, so when I’m on there, I have to take full advantage of it and try and do the little things -- be strong on the face-off for the guys, get the puck to them and get back in front of the net.”
Officially the Wings were 3-of-7 with the man advantage. Daniel Alfredsson assisted on all three power-play goals, but it was more the Wings' mindset that set them apart from their last two games.
“We all knew we had to put in a better effort from everyone,” said Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who faced 34 shots. “The last two games were uncharacteristic of this dressing room.
“There’s a lot more character and pride than we’ve displayed. It was important for us to get a good team win tonight and we did that.”
Detroit's first three goals -- Bertuzzi, Nik Kronwall, and Datsyuk -- came with the man advantage, but the Flyers hung tough and trailed 3-2 in the third period.
That's when Henrik Zetterberg gave the Wings a two-goal lead at 13:48 on a one-timer from a great pass by Datsyuk .
Zetterberg also notched an empty-net goal.
“It was nice to play a game again and not wait four or five days,” Zetterberg said. “We weren’t happy with the way we played our last game at home.
"We wanted to come out and play a better game, and I think we did.”
With all the line juggling and the insertion of Luke Glendening and Jordan Tootoo into the lineup, it was the play of Detroit’s Kronwall that stood out.
With a goal and two assists and 25:15 of ice time, the veteran defenseman was the game’s First Star.
“Anytime you lose a couple in a row, you have to get back on the winning side,” Kronwall said. “I thought tonight we did a fairly good job of sticking with it for 60 minutes.
“There’s still a lot to be worked on, but it was a step forward. We have to keep working here.”
