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NHL: Detroit top Colorado to end losing run

The Phoenix Coyotes' Daniel Carcillo, left, is punched in the face by the Los Angeles Kings' Raitis Ivanans of Russia in the third period of Phoenix's 4-0 victory in Los Angeles on Monday. PHOTO: AP

The Detroit Red Wings ended a six-game losing streak by shutting out the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Monday behind netminder Chris Osgood's 18 saves.

Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of second-period goal to spark the Red Wings to their first victory since Feb. 5.

Zetterberg, who had not scored in five consecutive games, gave Detroit a 3-0 lead with a powerplay score 7:42 into the second period. He connected again two minutes later, scoring his 35th goal of the season.

"We played good. We dominated today," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock told reporters.

Chris Chelios and Valtteri Filppula were also on the scoresheet for the Red Wings, who maintained their NHL lead despite their worst slump in 17 years.

Osgood had a relatively easy time in goal after surviving a busy first period. He stopped 11 shots in the opening 20 minutes but faced only two shots in the second period and five in the third.

"They had a lot of opportunities but didn't shoot it for one reason or another," Osgood told reporters after his fourth shutout of the season and 47th of his career.

"We did a real good job of knocking down passes, clogged up the middle. We weren't really doing that late, we were better at it in Dallas [1-0 loss on Sunday] and we were really good at it tonight," he said.

Pavel Datsyuk assisted on Chelios's goal and both of Zetterberg's scores. The three assists boosted his total to 51 for the season.

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit's third-leading points maker behind Zetterberg and Datsyuk, left the game in the first period with what the Red Wings said was a sprained right knee.

"It doesn't look too serious," team spokesman John Hahn told reporters. "But he is being kept out as a precaution."

The loss was the fourth in a row for Colorado despite 36 saves by netminder Jose Theodore.

Islanders 3, Sharks 2

At Uniondale, New York, Freddy Meyer capped New York's three-goal, third-period rally with 8:41 left, taking advantage of injured San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

Meyer beat a goalie for the first time since November 2006.

Nabokov left in the second period when New York's Radek Martinek damaged the goalie's mask and sent him to the dressing room with a bloodied face. Stitches closed the wound well enough for him to return for the third period, but the Islanders' offense got going.

Marcel Goc and Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, who have dropped the first two of an eight-game road trip.

Devils 5, Hurricanes 1

At Newark, New Jersey, Travis Zajac had a goal and an assist, leading surging New Jersey past Carolina and earning a share of the Eastern Conference lead.

Mike Mottau, Jay Pandolfo, Johnny Oduya and Zach Parise also scored for the Devils, while Martin Brodeur made 21 saves. New Jersey, 6-2-1 in the last nine games, improved to 73 points. The Devils are tied with Ottawa and Montreal for the top spot in the conference.

Jeff Hamilton scored for the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes, who had won three straight.

Coyotes 4, Kings 0

At Los Angeles, Radim Vrbata scored a goal, assisted on two others and Phoenix blanked Los Angeles to give Wayne Gretzky his 100th victory as coach.

Phoenix won its third in a row, and its 31st victory matched the team's win total from last season. Mikael Tellqvist stopped 34 shots for his sixth career shutout and eighth victory of the season, starting in place of Ilya Bryzgalov.

Gretzky's Coyotes are 6-0 against his former team this season, winning by a combined total of 21-7. His 99th win also came against the Kings, 4-3 on Saturday at Phoenix.
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