Wings hold Pens to one first-period shot

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Game Information

Arena: Mellon Arena Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Referees: MikeHasenfratz, DanMarouelli Linesmen: BradKovachik, TroySartison

Attendance: 17,148 (101.1% full)

Team Stat Comparison
251	Goals	198
187	Goals Against	249
73	Power Play Goals	47
48	Power Play Goals Allowed	57
9	Shorthanded Goals	5
7	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	10
1053	Penalty Minutes	1248
13	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD
No scoring this period
2ND PERIOD
	1:21	Jan Hrdina 16 Assist: Aleksey Morozov
	5:51	Boyd Devereaux 8 Assist: Chris Chelios, Jason Williams
	10:40	Brendan Shanahan 33 Assist: Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov
3RD PERIOD
	14:49	Sean Avery 1 Assist: Kirk Maltby, Tomas Holmstrom
	18:47	Stephane Richer 12 Assist: Jan Hrdina, Robert Lang
	19:56	Nicklas Lidstrom 7 Assist: Unassisted

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Good teams find a way to win, even without all their key players. It's a lesson the Mario Lemieux-less Pittsburgh Penguins might want to learn from the Detroit Red Wings.

	Hasek

Brendan Shanahan and Boyd Devereaux scored in the second period and the Red Wings -- as hot after the Olympic break as they were before it -- won their sixth in a row, holding the Penguins to one shot in the first period of a 4-2 victory Saturday.

Dominik Hasek allowed Jan Hrdina's goal on the Penguins' second shot of the game early in the second period, but stopped 20 shots and made a series of key saves during a Pittsburgh power play early in the third period to preserve a one-goal lead.

Detroit, despite playing Saturday without the injured Steve Yzerman and Igor Larionov, has won seven of eight to easily lead the NHL with 94 points, 15 points more than runner-up Philadelphia. The Red Wings also have the league's best road record, 19-6-3-2.

"We've been playing against some teams that have obviously been up to play us," Shanahan said. "We've had some adversity and we've found a way to win each of them."

Sean Avery made it 3-1 by scoring his first NHL goal at 14:49 of the third, gathering the puck along the left-wing boards to beat Jean-Sebastien Aubin with a bad-angle shot to the short side from along the goal line. It was Avery's 19th career game.

"I just took the shot and I think it hit the side of his pad," Avery said. "Everyone's been telling me to shoot more and it just went in. I don't know how it went in, but it's a great feeling."

Pittsburgh's Stephane Richer scored with 1:13 remaining during a flurry in front of the net, banking in a shot off a sprawling Hasek's left skate. Nicklas Lidstrom, who also had an assist, scored into an empty net with 3.5 seconds left as half of the game's goals were scored in the final 5½ minutes.

"We should be happy with the wins," Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios said of their 3-0 record since the Olympic break. "We're going to get better. We've only had 11 guys practicing."

The Penguins understand that. Playing their second game since learning Lemieux (hip) would miss the rest of the season, and also without the injured Martin Straka, the Penguins mounted little early offense against Hasek as they struggle to make the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season.

The Penguins have won only once (1-6-2-1) in 10 games, an overtime victory Thursday in Columbus, and are 0-3-0-1 in their last four home games. The slump has dropped them five games under .500.

"We played well, but we need to be a desperate team," defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. "Hasek made some unbelievable saves and that's a good team we played, so our guys should get some confidence."

Hrdina gave Pittsburgh its only lead, corralling Aleksey Morozov's pass from the right circle with his stick and steering it between his legs past a surprised Hasek at 1:21 of the second.

"After the first, we had some scoring chances," Penguins coach Rick Kehoe said. "But when you've got guys out, you've got to find a way to get the job done. You play good teams, they do that."

Detroit answered Hrdina's goal 3½ minutes later as Devereaux redirected Chelios' shot from the right point for his eighth of the season.

Shanahan, playing with a broken thumb, gave the Red Wings the lead midway through the period with his 499th career goal. Shanahan skated to a long rebound of Lidstrom's shot from the high slot and swept it past Aubin, who made 26 saves in his second consecutive start. Aubin hadn't played back-to-back games since Nov. 10-13.

Of his pending 500th goal, Shanahan said, "It's just a number. I want to get it and just go from there."

Game notes
Detroit had lost three in a row and four of five in Pittsburgh, last winning there on Feb. 8, 1997. ... Lemieux expects to be fully healthy within two months. ... Pittsburgh was 0-3 on the power play and is 3-for-40 in its last 11 games. ... The Penguins, who began the day 12th in the overall Eastern Conference standings, haven't missed the playoffs since 1990 -- the year before winning the first of their consecutive Stanley Cups. ... Pittsburgh is 15-12-5 vs. Hasek, but most of those victories came with Lemieux and-or Jaromir Jagr in their lineup. ... Pittsburgh is 1-2 since the Olympic break.