National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 3, St. Louis 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 31, 2011
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen: David Brisebois, Derek Amell
Attendance: 20066

Jimmy Howard made 31 saves in his fourth shutout as the Detroit Red Wings bounced back with a 3-0 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

Johan Franzen, Justin Abdelkader and Jiri Hudler tallied for the Red Wings, who had lost a showdown with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

Starting both ends of a back-to-back for the second time this week and sixth time already this season, Howard showed no fatigue, stopping at least 10 shots in each period en route to his ninth career clean sheet.

Franzen got Detroit on the board at the 7:28 mark of the second period. Taking a feed from Pavel Datsyuk, Franzen cut toward the slot from the right face-off circle and skated around a host of other players before stuffing his 15th goal past Brian Elliott.

Abdelkader struck just over a minute later, wristing it from the slot into the top corner.

Hudler completed the big second period with 52 seconds left, getting his own rebound and flicking it into the top corner while falling to the ice.

St. Louis has now dropped three in a row for the first time this season.
Top Game Performances
 
St. Louis   Detroit
N/A Points Justin Abdelkader 1
N/A Goals Justin Abdelkader 1
N/A Assists Pavel Datsyuk 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Brian Elliott .903 Save Percentage Jimmy Howard 1.000
Brian Elliott 28 Saves Jimmy Howard 31
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
St. Louis 31 0 0-3 4-4 13 21
Detroit 31 3 0-4 3-3 11 28
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • St. Louis will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Blues have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .588 after a loss.