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Wings come back to sink San Jose with late goal

Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka swings an octopus prior to the Wings' game against the San Jose Sharks at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday. Detroit fans traditionally throw octopi on the ice after a big win. PHOTO: AFP

Pavel Datsyuk scored off a rebound with 1:24 left to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 comeback victory over the San Jose Sharks, evening the Western Conference semifinal at a game apiece on Saturday.

Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist in the first 4:17 and San Jose held onto the two-goal lead until Henrik Zetterberg scored late in the second period.

The Sharks then made a rare mistake early in the third period with a Detroit-like giveaway. Daniel Cleary made them pay for it with a short-handed goal that knotted the score at 2.

San Jose had two power plays midway through the final period, but took only one shot on the first opportunity and three on the second.

Detroit's Dominik Hasek made 17 saves and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 19 shots.

Devils 3, Senators 2

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jamie Langenbrunner scored on a breakaway 1:55 into the second overtime to give New Jersey a home split of the first two games in the Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Ottawa Senators.

Langenbrunner picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, fought off a hook by trailing defenseman Joe Corvo and shoved the puck past sprawled Senators' goalie Ray Emery.

The puck slipped between Emery's pads as Corvo crashed into the net, knocking it off its moorings as Langenbrunner celebrated.

New Jersey seemed set to win it in regulation after first-period goals by Brian Gionta and Sergei Brylin, but Dany Heatley tied it for Ottawa with 26.4 seconds left in the third.

Martin Brodeur ended up with 43 saves to earn his 94th playoffs victory.
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