Motown Mojo - Detroit Red Wings

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Wings Shell Reimer, Beat Leafs 6-3

Toronto, ON - Detroit scored four 1st period goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Johan Franzen, Damien Brunner, Ian White, and Justin Abdelkader all recorded goals for Detroit within a six minute span in the 1st period. Gustav Nyquist and Pavel Datsyuk added goals for Detroit).

Clarke MaCarthur, Cody Franson and Dion Phaneuf scored goals for Toronto.

In a bit of a strange move, Toronto goalie Johnathan Reimer was left in for all six Detroit goals. He stopped 18 of 26 shots. Jonas Gustavsson made 30 saves on 33 shots for Detroit.

Coach Mike Babcock said Jimmy Howard will return to starting in goal for Detroit, after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury.

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Gustavsson Blanks Preds

Detroit, MI - Jonas Gustavsson wasn't ready to start this game, but it didn't matter. Minutes before the opening faceoff, Gustavsson was told by coach Mike Babcock that he will be starting in goal due to Jimmy Howard having leg cramps again. He was up for the challenge.

He posted a 30-save shutout and the Red Wings beat the Predators 4-0. Damien Brunner scored two goals for Detroit, while Niklas Kronwall and Jordin Tootoo added goals of their own.

Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne stopped 19 of 23 shots.

Coach Mike Babcock said he plans to start Gustavsson in goal Sunday in Chicago, giving Howard a few extra days to rest his legs.

Defenseman Brian Lashoff didn't return to the bench for the 3rd period but Babcock said he is out approximately one week with an upper-body injury. Kent Huskins will make his first start for Detroit.

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Is anybody still following this? I can keep going if there's an interest but if nobody is reading I'm going to stop

[Bluejaysfan65]

I'm following!!! Love what you've been doing so far!!!

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Niemi Blanks Wings

San Jose, CA - Detroit just can't solve Antti Niemi. Niemi posted a 30 save shutout, as the Sharks beat the Red Wings 3-0 behind three 3rd period goals. Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Andrew Desjardins all scored goals for San Jose.

Jimmy Howard stopped 27 of 30 shots for Detroit.

Mikael Samuelsson made his return in the lineup after sitting out for over two weeks, replacing the injured Damien Brunner, who is out approximately one week with a lower-body injury. He was -1 with one shot on goal and took two penalties in 17:31 of ice time. Said coach Mike Babcock:

"Sammy (Samuelsson) made some good plays out there tonight. It takes a little bit to re-acclimate yourself in the lineup. He hasn't played because he just didn't fit in the lineup. Now he's getting a chance and he needs to take a hold of it."

This season, Samuelsson has played in 23 games. He has two points, both assists, with an average of 9:41 of time on ice per game. He signed a two-year, $6 million contract this past offseason.

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Bernier Dominates Wings

Los Angeles, CA - In two consecutive games, the Red Wings couldn't solve the opposing goaltender. Last game, it was Antti Niemi the Wings couldn't crack. Tonight it was Jonathan Bernier.

Bernier stopped 25 of 26 shots, leading the LA Kings to a 3-1 victory. Dustin Brown, Willie Mitchell, and Marc-Andre Cliche scored goals for LA, while Jordin Tootoo scored the lone goal for Detroit. Tootoo also fought LA's Kyle Clifford in the 3rd period. Jimmy Howard stopped 30 of 33 shots for Detroit.

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Fasth Wins Goaltending Duel

Anaheim, CA - Jimmy Howard and Viktor Fasth combined to stop 72 of 73 shots on the night, but unfortunately for Jimmy Howard, he couldn't make one more save to force a shootout.

Nick Bonino scored with 17 seconds left in overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 1-0 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. He buried a rebound off a Teemu Selanne slapshot past Howard as the puck hit Howard's pad and found itself right on Bonino's tape. This happened after Anahem failed to convert on the powerplay for the 7th time on the night.

Detroit defenseman Johnathan Ericsson tripped Anaheim forward Corey Perry with just over 2:30 left to play, sending the Ducks on a 4-3 powerplay. Howard was excellent on the powerplay, making 7 saves, including a robbery on Teemu Selanne where he slid post to post to make a save with the left pad. Detroit falls to 21-16-4 on the season, and will conclude their 5-game west-coast road trip Tuesday in Phoenix. They're still searching for a win on the road trip, posting a 0-3-1 record thus far.

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Yandle's Goal Tops Wings in OT

Phoenix, AZ - Keith Yandle scored on a slapshot with under a minute remaining, propelling the Coyotes past the Red Wings 3-2. Matthew Lombardi and Mikael Boedker were the other goal-scorers for Phoenix, while Jason LaBarbera stopped 25 of 27 shots in goal.

For Detroit, Mikael Samuelsson and Johnathan Ericsson scored goals, and Jimmy Howard stopped 39 of 42 shots. Detroit ends their west-coast swing with a 0-3-2 record.

"Obviously we wanted to play better, but we've been doing some things well, and others not so well. We're looking forward to getting back to work," said coach Mike Babcock after the loss.