The last time the Detroit Red Wings looked this bad, Henrik Zetterberg was nine years old.
San Jose rookie Devin Setoguchi scored midway through the third period, giving the Sharks a 3-2 win Friday night over the slumping Red Wings.
Detroit has won only one of its last 11 games, slashing into its massive lead in the standings. It’s the worst stretch for the Red Wings since a 12-game winless streak from Oct. 21-Nov. 16, 1989.
“I don’t want to say there is panic in the room, but you can see disappointment on our faces,” goalie Dominik Hasek said. “But we still believe we can play the way we did before.”
After games on Feb. 5, The Red Wings had an NHL-leading 86 points, a full 17 ahead of Dallas. Detroit has added just four points in 24 days, and now leads Dallas by three points.
Hasek played for the first time in three weeks after being sidelined with a hip injury. Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall played for the first time in a month, returning from a clavicle injury. The Red Wings are without three key defensemen: Nicklas Lidstrom (knee), Brian Rafalski (groin) and Chris Chelios (knee).
“Of course, we have had injuries, but we don’t want to make excuses,” Hasek said
In other NHL games Friday night, it was: Washington 4, New Jersey; Anaheim 3, Calgary 1; Montreal 6, Buffalo 2; Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2 in overtime; Columbus 3, Vancouver 2 in overtime; and Minnesota 3, Florida 2.
At Joe Louis Arena, rookie Devin Setoguchi scored midway through the third period after the puck went off the net over the glass. The goal proved to be the game-winner.
“We might’ve gotten lucky on the third goal,” San Jose coach Ron Wilson acknowledged.
Hasek agreed.
“Definitely, it was a mistake,” Hasek said. “The officials should’ve blown the whistle, but no one of the four saw the puck.”
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said it was unfortunate the officials didn’t stop the play when the puck cleared the glass.
“It hit the net, rolled down the boards and rolled out in front,” Babcock said. “When you look at the video, it seems real obvious.”
Joe Pavelski scored on the first shot of the game, Setoguchi had a goal 52 seconds into the second period and added the winner in the third.
“The first goal is the one that bothers me for sure,” Hasek said. “It was a great wrist shot, but of the three goals, it was the one I should’ve made the save.”
Zetterberg had his 36th goal and Mikael Samuelsson scored to pull the Red Wings within a goal with 7-plus minutes left, but they couldn’t tie the game.
Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves, helping San Jose win a fourth straight game on its eight-game road trip.
“When you hold a team like Detroit to only 22 shots on goal, you’ve done a hell of a job,” Wilson said.
Capitals 4, Devils 0
At Newark, N.J., Cristobal Huet stopped 18 shots in his first start for Washington and fellow newcomer Sergei Fedorov made a sensational no-look pass to help break a scoreless tie.
Mike Green, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Semin and Donald Brashear scored for the Capitals, who pulled to within three points of first-place Carolina in the Southeast Division.
Ducks 3, Flames 1
At Aneheim, Calif., defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Scott Niedermayer each had a goal and an assist to help and Anaheim to its fifth straight victory.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 saves for the Ducks.
The Flames had to play shorthanded for the final 3:18 after Kristian Huselius got a double-minor for cutting Rob Niedermayer with a high stick in the Anaheim zone, and they were two men short for the final 1:27 after Dion Phaneuf got a holding penalty, two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a 10-minute misconduct.
Canadiens 6, Sabres 2
At Buffalo, N.Y., Tomas Plekanec had three power-play goals for his first hat trick, and rookie Carey Price won his second straight start since taking over as Montreal’s top goalie.
Plekanec added an assist, Mark Streit had a goal and two assists, and Alex Kovalev had four assists for Montreal. The Canadiens moved ahead of idle Ottawa into first place in the Northeast Division with its sixth win in eight games.
Lightning 3, Maple Leafs 2, OT
At Tampa, Fla., Dan Boyle scored a power-play goal with 2:58 left in overtime and Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
Tampa Bay’s John Tortorella tied Bob Johnson for the most NHL wins by an Amercian-born coach with 234.
Blue Jackets 3, Canucks 2, OT
At Vancouver, British Columbia, Jason Chimera scored in overtime and Columbus rallied from a two-goal third period deficit to beat Vancouver.
Andrew Murray and Rick Nash scored 70 seconds apart early in the third period to tie the game at 2.
Wild 3, Panthers 2
At Sunrise, Fla., Mikko Koivu, Stephane Veilleux and Brent Burns scored and Minnesota beat Florida for the sixth straight time.
It was the sixth loss in seven games for the Panthers. The Wild won their second straight after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win at Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
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