Daniel Cleary scored twice in regulation play and Henrik Zetterberg netted the lone shootout goal as the NHL-leading Detroit Red Wings snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the visiting Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Thursday.
Henrik Sedin notched a goal and an assist, and Markus Naslund had the other goal for Vancouver (25-17-5), which lost for the fourth time in five games and finished its three-game road trip 1-1-1.
Canucks defenceman Alexander Edler, left, gets rubbed out by Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom during the first period Thursday in Detroit.
(Carlos Osorio/ Associated Press)
Roberto Luongo was outstanding in goal for the Canucks, stopping 42 shots in regulation and another five in overtime before denying Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler in the shootout.
But he couldn't stop Zetterberg, who scored the winner by slipping a backhander between Luongo's pads after a fake.
"I could have gone high, but he opened up the five-hole," Zetterberg said. "Luongo played a great game."
The Canucks' goaltender praised Zetterberg's move.
"It was a simple, yet brilliant play," Luongo said. "He carried from his forehand to his backhand, waited for the opening and put it five-hole."
Luongo's teammates couldn't pick him up in the tiebreaker, as Alexander Edler, Trevor Linden and Taylor Pyatt were turned aside by Dominik Hasek, who also made 26 saves in regulation for Detroit (34-10-4).
"We threw a lot of shots at Luongo. He's a great goalie, so that's what you have to do," Cleary said. "Dom shut them down. He was great for us."
Both teams return to action Saturday night. The Red Wings open a three-game road trip against the San Jose Sharks, while the Canucks return home to face the Los Angeles Kings (CBC, 10 p.m. ET).
Cleary opened the scoring with 1:16 left in the first period when he tipped Andreas Lilja's shot from the left point out of the air and past Luongo for his 17th goal.
Vancouver didn't have a shot from the eight-minute mark of the first period until 7:32 of the second period, a total of 19:32. That opened the door for Cleary to make it 2-0 with his second of the night, and 18th of the season. Just 1:51 into the second period, he tipped Valtteri Filppula's pass, which came to him through his legs.
The Canucks scored twice in the last four minutes of the second period to tie it at 2-2.
Sedin made it 2-1 with 4:39 left in the frame when he put a rebound into an open net for his ninth goal. Naslund tied it with 1:52 remaining when his attempted pass from the right circle deflected in off the skate of Detroit defenceman Brian Rafalski. It was Naslund's 16th goal.
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