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DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Red Wings lost Sergei Fedorov, but
the St. Louis Blues were already without Chris Pronger, Al
MacInnis, Pavol Demitra and Michal Handzus.
So the Red Wings moved into first place in the Central Division.
|  | | Sergei Fedorov, center, got the Red Wings on the board before leaving the game in the first period with a broken nose. |
Despite losing Fedorov to a broken nose, Detroit defeated St.
Louis 4-2 on Friday night to move past the Blues into first place in
the Central Division and second overall in the Western Conference.
"We've been looking up at them for a long time," said Kris
Draper. "They've still got two games in hand on us, but it feels
good to be back at the top of the Central."
The Blues had been in first place all season, but are without
four of their best players because of injuries.
"We thought we could get the win with the lineup they had,"
said Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman.
Detroit improved its record to 37-16-6-4 for 84 points, while
St. Louis is 37-15-7-2 for 83 points. The Red Wings, 8-0-2 in their
last 10 games.
"They closed the gap and they've been playing well," said St.
Louis coach Joel Quenneville. "I'm not surprised that they closed
the gap and made a run at us. We hadn't really hit any slumps."
Fedorov was hurt late in the first period when St. Louis
defenseman Bryce Salvador's helmet hit Fedorov in the face after
Fedorov took a shot on goal. Bowman said he didn't know if Fedorov
would play Sunday against Phoenix.
Detroit broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in the second period.
Kris Draper got the go-ahead goal when he gathered in a pass
from Brent Gilchrist at the St. Louis blue line and beat goaltender
Brent Johnson with a shot high to the glove side from the inside
edge of the left circle.
"I was going one way and shot it back across my body," said
Draper.
With the Blues' Reid Simpson off for roughing Kirk Maltby, Tomas
Holmstrom tipped in a pass from Steve Duchesne to make it 3-1.
"Their power play is pretty good," said Quenneville. "They
don't make it easy for you to clear. They're one of the best teams
at tying you up before you get possession."
Steve Yzerman added his 13th goal for Detroit midway in the
third period. It was the 1,600th point of his 18-season NHL career.
Scott Mellanby got St. Louis' second goal with 6:27 left.
The Red Wings opened the scoring in the first period when
Fedorov got his 31st goal by putting a rebound over a sprawling
Johnson. But the Blues tied it just 44 seconds later when Scott
Young got his 30th on a 2-on-1 break.
Game notes
Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios returned to the
lineup Friday after missing 44 games because of surgery on his left
knee. To make room for Chelios, the Red Wings put Larry Murphy on
the injured list with a sore heel ... The last time the Blues had
lost three -straight games was March 7-11, 1999. ... Johnson is the
grandson of the Red Wings Hall of Fame player, coach, general
manager and broadcaster Sid Abel.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
Phoenix 7
Buffalo 3
Carolina 3
New Jersey 2
Washington 3
Montreal 1
Pittsburgh 6
NY Rangers 4
Detroit 4
St. Louis 2
Chicago 1
Atlanta 0
Dallas 5
Boston 4
Colorado 4
Minnesota 1
San Jose 3
Anaheim 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Brent Johnson stops Steve Yzerman once, but he gets the puck back for his 1,600th career point.
avi: 1975 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mathieu Dandenault fires the puck on net and Sergei Fedorov is there for the putback.
avi: 1281 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Brent Gilchrist flicks the puck ahead to Kris Draper for the goal.
avi: 1004 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Pierre Turgeon gets Chris Osgood to commit to his right side which leaves the net wide upon for Scott Young on his left.
avi: 1058 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Steve Yzerman reflects on a historic night with ESPN's Gary Thorne and Bill Clement.
wav: 619 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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