St. Louis 1, Detroit 0: Red Wings drop one point behind Blues in standings

St. Louis 1, Detroit 0: Red Wings drop one point behind Blues in standings

Detroit Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg (40) carries the puck near St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) in the second period April 7, 2013. / Paul Sancya / Associated Press By Helene St. James Detroit Free Press Sports Writer Filed Under Sports Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Jimmy Howard Henrik Zetterberg Pavel Datsyuk Niklas Kronwall Related Links Red Wings getting a look at Riley Sheahan against Blues Red Wings, Maple Leafs sweaters for Winter Classic revealed It's a challenge keeping Red Wings' Johan Franzen pumped up The Red Wings held on, stuck together, and got good goaltending. The one thing they didn't get was a goal, even through three power play opportunities, and that left them shortchanged, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena. • Box score | NHL scoreboard | West standings The loss to Central Division rival St. Louis dropped the Wings a point behind the Blues, who play seven of their last eight games at home. With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Wings are anxious to secure a spot, and to enter the playoffs on a good roll. At least one among their personnel got a playoff-like workout: When a sizable octopus plopped onto the ice during a second intermission break, and Al Sobotka showed playoff form with a spirited overhead swing. It was the second straight time the Wings were coming home from a road trip and faced with a matinee a day later. A week after a disastrous start against Chicago left the Wings embarrassed by a 7-1 loss, they held up much better against the Blues. Jimmy Howard was especially strong, making several good saves among 11 total in the first period to keep his teammates in the game. Jakub Kindl had the best chances of the stretch for the Wings. Few Wings besides Kindl, in fact, were able to get many pucks at Brian Elliott, even during a power play late in the second period. The Wings skated better as the game wore on, but the Blues kept attacking and grabbed a 1-0 lead late in the second period after the puck slid into Howard's crease during a rush. Before any Wing could clear the puck, Chris Porter had poked it into Detroit's net. The Wings had a power play bridge 1:16 into the third period, but the closest they came to a scoring chance was Henrik Zetterberg sending the puck wide from the right side of the crease. The Blues were so aggressive on a third Detroit power play, swarming lanes and swinging sticks to prevent passes, that the Wings didn't get any good chances. A furious flurry with four minutes to go resulted in Nyquist just sending the puck wide and Pavel Datsyuk foiled on a shot from the lot slot. David Perron and Zetterberg, meanwhile, go so tangled up with one another that both ended up in the penalty box. Niklas Kronwall went off with 2:08 remaining for concealing the puck with his hand, nullifying any chance of getting an extra attacker.

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