Vey's shootout goal lifts Canucks to 4-3 win over Red Wings
DETROIT (AP) The Vancouver Canucks came into Joe Louis Arena with tired legs and a missing captain, but they didn't let that slow them down.
The Canucks dominated the first half of the game, then came back with one burst to win a seven-round shootout for a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.
''We played the full 60 minutes plus the overtime,'' said Jared McCann, who scored the game's first goal. ''We battled hard.''
Vancouver outshot Detroit 27-10 in the first two periods, including a 17-5 margin in the first.
''It's my job to make sure the team is ready to play, and we weren't tonight, so that's on me,'' Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. ''That might have been the worst start we've had all year, and when you aren't ready to play, it takes an extraordinarily long time to get yourself in gear.
''You saw that tonight.''
Sven Baertschi and Radim Vrbata also scored in regulation for the Canucks, who were without injured captain Henrik Sedin.
Sedin was out after leaving Thursday's loss to Philadelphia with a lower-body injury. Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said he doesn't expect Sedin to miss much time.
Ryan Miller had 25 saves through overtime for Vancouver.
''Back-to-backs are always a grind, but we really got off to a good start,'' he said. ''They made a push late, but we were able to pull it out.''
Joakim Andersson, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard had 37 saves.
Zetterberg tied the game at 3 with 1:07 to play, taking Datsyuk's pass and beating Miller on the stick side. Detroit dominated the 3-on-3 overtime, but Miller stopped Gustav Nyquist and Datsyuk hit the post.
''I felt bad about giving up a short-side goal like that, but we were able to grind it out in overtime,'' Miller said.
Vrbata also scored in the second round of the tiebreaker, and Brad Richards tied it for Detroit in the third. Linden Vey, making his season debut, ended it in the seventh round.
The Canucks dominated early, outshooting the Red Wings 9-1 in the first eight minutes, but Howard kept the game scoreless with a spectacular glove save on Alexandre Burrows. Later in the period, Howard dove across an empty net to get his stick on Bo Horvat's wraparound attempt.
Vancouver, though, got on the board with 1:03 left in the first, thanks to a series of mistakes by the Red Wings. Justin Abdelader turned the ball over at center ice, and when Jannik Hansen fired the puck into the Detroit end, the rebound off the boards evaded both Howard and Jonathan Ericsson. McCann picked up the loose puck and fired it over Howard's shoulder for his ninth goal.
Burrows was called for the game's first penalty with 6:18 left in the second period, giving the Red Wings a much-needed chance for some offense. At the beginning of the power play, they were being outshot 22-7, and both teams picked up one more in the next two minutes.
Moments later, Vancouver took advantage of some sloppy Detroit defense, with Baertschi finishing off a nice passing move for his third goal.
Datsyuk, though, helped get Detroit on the board with 1:07 left in the second, forcing a turnover at the blue line and starting a play that ended with Andersson's first goal.
''I knew we needed to get going,'' he said. ''I went hard to the net when Pavel got the puck, and Danny (DeKeyser) put the puck right where I could tap in through his legs.''
The Red Wings went back on the power play when Brandon Prust was called for roughing in a scrum after the buzzer.
Datsyuk tapped home Brendan Smith's pass at 3:29 of the third to tie the game at 2-2.
The Canucks, though, quickly regained the lead, with Vrbata circling a goal-mouth pile and putting a backhander past Howard at 5:33.
The Red Wings dominated much of the final 15 minutes, keeping Vancouver trapped in its end, but weren't able to beat Miller until Zetterberg snuck a shot past him with the Red Wings' goal empty.
NOTES: Detroit coach Jeff Blashill brought in former NHL player and Hall of Famer Adam Oates to consult with the Red Wings coaching staff for the next three days. ... The Canucks recalled Vey from Utica of the AHL. ... D Kyle Quincey skated with the Red Wings in practice Friday for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in October.
