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DETROIT (Ticker) -- The "Dominator" put an end to the longest unbeaten streak in San Jose Sharks' history. Dominik Hasek made 19 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Detroit Red Wings snapped the Sharks' 10-game unbeaten streak with a 3-0 victory. It was the 58th career shutout for Hasek, tying him with Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour for 12th all-time and tops among active goaltenders. "The whole game, we played great defense," Hasek said. "There were a couple chances on the power play, but overall, we didn't give much up." The loss also ended a six-game road winning streak for San Jose, another franchise mark. "We knew who they were, a tremendous team that would give us a good challenge and one that's right in back of you (in the standings), so there was no way we were going to overlook them," Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said. After a scoreless first period, Kris Draper and Steve Yzerman tallied 74 seconds apart midway through the second to give Hasek all the support he needed. Brett Hull, who ended an eight-game goal-scoring drought Wednesday, put away the contest with 3:11 left in the third. "You can't let them get their shots like that," San Jose captain Owen Nolan said. "You have to bang them early. We weren't a physical team tonight. In the first period, we showed them an awful lot of respect, and we didn't respect ourselves. We let them carry the play." The Red Wings improved to 18-2-0 all-time against the Sharks at Joe Louis Arena. "When we play defense, we try to get turnovers and get back on offense," Red Wings left wing Kirk Maltby said. "Teams have had too many offensive chances. When we play (the trap), it's been effective and it gives us a chance to win the close games." Hasek stopped five shots in the first period, 10 in the second and only four in the third. He faced his busiest stretch in the final 30 seconds of the second period, making three saves while the Sharks were on the power play. Detroit clamped down in the third, holding San Jose without a shot for nearly nine minutes. The Sharks did not register another until the 3:26 mark. "San Jose tried to play a physical game, but we wanted to play a physical game ourselves," Maltby said. "People don't look at us as a team like that, but we have guys who can hit and play the physical game." After a 4-1 loss to Colorado on December 5, Hasek has allowed just six goals in his last six starts. "I could say the last couple weeks I've played the way I expect of myself," he said. "You're not going to play all 60 or 65 games (well)." "He hasn't had a lot of shutouts, but he's played 18 periods and he's had a lot of shutout periods," Bowman added. On Detroit's first goal, Sergei Fedorov flipped a seemingless harmless shot toward the net from just inside the blue line, but the puck got caught in Draper's skates. He gained control and lifted a shot over goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who made 26 saves. Detroit's last two goals were soft ones. San Jose defenseman Bryan Marchment coughed up the puck to Yzerman behind the net. Yzerman, who had just one goal in his previous 11 contests, skated to the bottom of the left circle and beat Nabokov to the short side. Hull's soft shot from the top of the right circle fooled Nabokov and fluttered through his pads. "We just didn't play tonight for 60 minutes the way we have the last few games," Marchment said. "We came out a little flatter than we have been, and for us to compete against a team like the Detroit Red Wings we have to play for 60 minutes." |
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