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BOX SCORE
DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Red Wings finally solved the
Minnesota Wild.
Kris Draper scored two goals to lead the Red Wings to a 4-2
victory over the expansion club, evening their four-game record
against the Wild.
|  | | Vyacheslav Kozlov got Detroit on the board, beating a sprawling Derek Gustafson in the first period. |
The Red Wings extended their home unbeaten streak to 15 games
and avenged their last home loss, when the Wild won 5-3 on Dec. 27.
Minnesota was at somewhat of a disadvantage, having played the
night before while Detroit had been off since Sunday.
"They played as well as they had to in the first two periods
and then they opened up in the third with us playing last night,"
Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. "You could see a huge
difference there."
Detroit's Vyacheslav Kozlov scored the game's first goal at
14:28.
Sergei Fedorov passed the puck to him in the right circle and
Kozlov carried it to the net, beating Wild goalie Derek Gustafson
stick side
The assist was the 800th point of Fedorov's career.
"I knew it was coming up but I didn't realize it would be
tonight," Fedorov said.
Minnesota tied it at 1 when defenseman Lubomir Sekeras
backhanded a bouncing puck past Detroit goalie Manny Legace at
16:45 of the first.
The normally low-scoring Wild took a 2-1 lead at 4:21 of the
second when Darby Hendrickson collected a rebound and put it past
Legace.
Draper beat Gustafson from the left circle at 6:56 of the
second, tying it 2-2.
With Pat Verbeek off for interference, Martin Lapointe found
Draper, who beat Gustafson on a short-handed breakaway at 6:16 of
the third period, giving Detroit a 3-2 lead.
"I knew if I could get in a footrace, I'd have an opportunity
to get a breakaway," Draper said. "I just went to the net with
it, took a shot and it went in for me."
It was Draper's first two-goal game since March 18, 1998, at
Toronto.
"He was flying tonight," Lemaire said. "He was skating well
and getting chances."
Lapointe sealed the victory with a power-play goal at 13:05 of
the third. Brendan Shanahan hit the right post and the puck bounced
back behind Gustafson into the crease, from where Lapointe scored.
"They're a great team," said Gustafson, who was playing in
just his second NHL game. "They just get the puck to the net and
crash the net. That's how they scored the fourth goal.
"Great shot by Shanahan and it ended up behind me. The guy was
right on the doorstep to knock it in."
Lapointe has two goals and two assists in his past three games.
The Wild remained winless in seven games but they were proud of
the way they played the Red Wings this season.
"We've had a tough little stretch," said forward Stacy Roest,
a former Red Wing. "We know we can't match them skill-wise, but
one thing we take a lot of pride in is our work ethic. We've gotten
great goaltending the whole series."
Game notes
Detroit captain Steve Yzerman missed the game with a slight
groin strain. He is day to day. ... The daughters of Detroit center
Igor Larionov, Alyonka and Dianna, sang the national anthem. ...
Nicklas Lidstrom assisted on Kozlov's goal, extending his point
streak to six games. He has three goals and five assists in that
span. ... Tomas Holmstrom's assist on Draper's first goal gave him
five points in three games. ... Hendrickson extended his career
high in goals to 15. ... Wild D Brad Bombardir missed the game
because of back spasms. ... Wild G Manny Fernandez sat out his
fourth game due to a sprained left ankle.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 3
Montreal 2
Detroit 4
Minnesota 2
Atlanta 2
Tampa Bay 0
Nashville 2
Chicago 1
Colorado 3
St. Louis 1
Calgary 3
Philadelphia 1
Ottawa 2
San Jose 1
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