Detroit – Dominik Hasek got all the help he needed from Pavel Datsyuk – and the goalposts.
Hasek made 25 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and 75th overall, and Datsyuk scored his 25th goal in the Detroit Red Wings’ 1-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
“We didn’t give them too much,” Hasek said. “They had some chances and hit the post.”
The Red Wings snapped a four-game losing streak.
“Been a long time around here since we’ve been able to talk about a win,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider praised Hasek.
“He just does what he always does,” Schneider said. “He always gives us a chance to win the game.”
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 27 saves for Anaheim.
“Exactly like a playoff game,” Ducks star Teemu Selanne said. “We stopped skating in the second period.”
The Red Wings have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season. That’s the longest playoff streak in North American professional sports. The New York Yankees are second with a 12-season playoff streak.
“You get to this point in the season and you’re just dying for the playoffs to start,” Schneider said.
Datsyuk scored 4:50 into the second period, putting in a rebound of Schneider’s shot from the point off a faceoff. The puck also bounced off Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom, who was in front of Giguere, before Datsyuk scored.
“He’s just a flat-out good player,” Babcock said about Datsyuk.
