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 "It was a game we sort of expected. They came at us very physical, but we said to ourselves that we have to be as physical as they are, especially in the first period," the Red Wings' goalie said Wednesday night after making 24 saves in a 2-1 victory over Anaheim.
"I think it is a big rivalry. They are the Stanley Cup champions and they play like champions. They beat us last year (in the playoffs) and most of the time we lose in this building, so this was a big game for us to show them we can win in this building also."
The Red Wings had lost five of their past six visits to Anaheim, and Hasek was 0-3-0 with a 4.10 goals-against average in his past three starts in the building.
While Anaheim has surged since Scott Niedermayer decided he wouldn't retire and returned to the lineup, the Red Wings still are the team to beat
-- they have the league's best record.
In other NHL games, it was: Toronto 3, Washington 2; and Vancouver 3, St. Louis 2 in a shootout.
Brian Rafalski scored when Detroit had a two-man advantage in the opening period, and Valtteri Filppula gave the Red Wings a two-goal pad in the second. Chris Pronger spoiled Hasek's shutout bid with a power-play goal with 11:55 remaining.
The matchup was spirited, marked by hard checking and flaring tempers.
During a rowdy first period when each team had seven penalties, Pronger and Detroit's Dan Cleary drew majors for fighting, with both landing hard punches in what essentially wound up in a draw.
Todd Bertuzzi drew three of the Ducks' penalties in that period against his former Detroit teammates, and he and Todd Marchant were in the box when Rafalski scored at 11:52.
Things settled down and there were five penalties in the second, but Detroit's Aaron Downey and Anaheim's Sean O'Donnell mixed it up and were assessed majors.
"I thought it was very much like a playoff game," Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "There were two really competitive teams that wanted to win. We have had our battles in the past, and with last year's playoffs. You could tell both teams were really competing out there."
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Hasek, who turns 43 on Jan. 29, made a sparkling array of saves, smothering the puck in traffic at times, and gloving or swatting away other shots.
He got help from the defense. Detroit held the Ducks to 25 shots while getting off 33 at Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the way to its ninth road win in the past 10.
"It was a big game and emotions run high," Anaheim's Rob Niedermayer said. "We definitely have to control that (penalties) a lot better, especially early on. You can't get behind the eight-ball right away.
"We gave them a few power plays early and they got momentum from that."
Each team had one penalty in the third period.
Rafalski scored his ninth goal on a 30-foot slap shot. Filppula's goal, coming after he intercepted a clearing pass that Marchant broke his stick on, scored his 15th on a give-and-go with Tomas Kopecky.
The Ducks upset Detroit in the playoffs last season on the way to their first league title.
Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2
Mats Sundin scored with 29.2 seconds left to give host Toronto the victory one day after Cliff Fletcher took over as the Maple Leafs' interim general manager.
Chad Kilger and Alex Steen also scored for Toronto, and Vesa Toskala made 30 saves.
Alexander Ovechkin got his league-best 39th goal, Alexander Semin also scored, and Olaf Kolzig made 21 saves for Washington.
Canucks 3, Blues 2, SO
Daniel Sedin scored in the shootout to complete host Vancouver's first third-period comeback of the season and end a seven-game winless skid.
Mattias Ohlund tied it with his second power-play goal of the game 1:46 into the third period. Vancouver was 0-17-1 when trailing after two periods.
Brad Boyes and D.J. King scored for the Blues, who failed to hold a third-period lead in regulation for just the second time all season
-- they were 14-0-1 -- and extended their winless streak to six games.
[Associated Press; By KEN PETERS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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