Red Wings edge Blackhawks in SO
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Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Tomas Tatar scored the decisive shootout goal as the Detroit Red Wings edged the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night at the United Center.
Tatar scored on a backhander to begin the third round of the tiebreaker and then Jimmy Howard made a left pad save on Patrick Sharp as the Red Wings ended an 0-2-1 slide.
Tatar also had a second-period goal for Detroit, which got 32 saves from Howard.
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Corey Crawford stopped 26 shots for the Blackhawks, who have grown accustomed to playing beyond regulation of late. Three of their last five games have gone to a shootout while another was decided in overtime.
"It was good, a long time coming," Howard said. "It feels extra special against a group that's so talented."
The shootout loss to Detroit left Chicago with a 2-0-3 mark on its current eight-game homestand. The Blackhawks have at least a point in seven straight games overall (4-0-3).
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Detroit grabbed a 2-1 lead with 2:06 remaining in the third period when Darren Helm put the puck in off Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook. Pavel Datsyuk made a nice play to keep the puck inside the Chicago zone before backhanding it to Helm in the slot.
Just 43 seconds later, the Blackhawks tied it on a fortuitous carom. Howard couldn't glove Kris Versteeg's slap shot and the puck deflected in off Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall.
"Every point you get in the standings means a lot," Versteeg said. "You always want to get that extra point but with the shootout, you never know how it's gonna go."
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Howard stood tall in a scoreless first period, recording 17 saves.
Tatar buried a no-look, backhand pass from Helm to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with 3:50 remaining in the second period. Brandon Saad tied it 39 seconds later when he beat Howard on the blocker side with a wrist shot. Chicago caught a break on the play as Marian Hossa appeared to be offside.
Game Notes
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The Red Wings began a six-game road trip ... Chicago was 0-for-4 on the power play ... Detroit improved to 8-0-2 against Central Division teams this season.