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NHL Roundup: Detroit rallies with 5-goal 2nd period
Overcomes hat trick to beat Blackhawks
Monday, March 08, 2010

Not even a hat trick by Chicago's Andrew Ladd could sidetrack the Detroit Red Wings.

Pavel Datsyuk capped a five-goal second period and visiting Detroit rallied for a 5-4 victory against the Blackhawks.

Ladd's first goal of the game gave Chicago a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Detroit took charge in the second before Ladd added two more goals in the final period.

"They seemed to take it off the pedal a little there in the second and we took advantage of it," Brian Rafalski said. "We got on a little bit of a roll there and just kept coming."

Rafalski started the surge with a power-play goal 4:12 into the second to cut the lead to 2-1. Nicklas Lidstrom, Jason Williams, Valtteri Filppula and Datsyuk followed with goals as the Red Wings won for the fourth time in five games.

Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi added two assists apiece.

The Red Wings, hampered by injuries early in the season, strengthened their grip on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Detroit has won eight consecutive Central Division titles and just might be finding its winning touch again.

Other games

• Sabres 2, Rangers 1: Patrick Kaleta banked in a rebound off goalie Henrik Lundqvist 2:22 into overtime as Buffalo beat New York to snap an eight-game losing streak on the road. Ryan Miller was solid in making 35 saves. He outdueled Lundqvist, who stopped 30 shots in a matchup of Olympic goalies.

• Flames 5, Wild 2: Jarome Iginla recorded his 10th career hat trick and Vesa Toskala made 27 saves in his first start since being traded to Calgary as the visiting Flames beat Minnesota. Rene Bourque and Mark Giordano also scored for the Flames, who stayed within a point of Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

• Canucks 4, Predators 2: Jannik Hansen scored the go-ahead goal with just under six minutes left in the third period to lead Vancouver to a victory against host Nashville. Mikael Samuelsson, Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin also scored for Vancouver, which has won three of its past four. The Canucks are 7-5-0 so far on their franchise-high 14-game road trip.

• Hurricanes 4, Thrashers 0: Manny Legace made 27 saves for Carolina's first shutout of the season, and Jussi Jokinen had a goal and an assist in the visiting Hurricanes' victory against Atlanta. Legace improved to 9-5-2 with his 24th NHL shutout and first since April 5, 2008, for St. Louis against Columbus.

• Flyers 3, Maple Leafs 1: Simon Gagne and Danny Briere scored in a 1:16 span in the second period, and Michael Leighton made 27 saves in host Philadelphia's victory against Toronto.

• Oilers 2, Devils 0: Jeff Deslauriers made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Gilbert Brule and Marc Pouliot scored in host Edmonton's victory against New Jersey.

• Canadiens 4, Ducks 3: Brian Gionta and Andrei Markov scored in the final 1:50 of regulation, and Tomas Plekanec added the shootout winner in the fourth round in Montreal's victory against host Anaheim.

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First published on March 8, 2010 at 12:28 am