Questionable Call Helps Stars Down Red Wings
POSTED: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Detroit, MI -- (Sports Network) - Alex Auld stopped 31-of-32 shots to lead Dallas past Detroit, 3-1, at Joe Louis Arena.Mike Ribeiro, Matt Niskanen and Loui Eriksson lit the lamp for the Stars, who have won two of three. "You always have to have good goaltending to win on the road in this league," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "There was also depth on our side tonight, all four lines rolled out and played well." Henrik Zetterberg provided the lone offense for the Red Wings, who saw their three-game win streak snapped. Jimmy Howard took the loss despite making 29 saves. Trailing by 2-1 in the third period, the Red Wings were the victim of a questionable non-call. Veteran grinder Brad May managed to sneak a shot inside the right post as Auld closed off that space with his pads 6 1/2 minutes in. Despite replays from behind the cage which clearly showed the puck over the line inside the pipe, the score was wiped out after the nearest official ruled he had blown the whistle due to losing sight of the puck. "It was a goal. The part I don't understand from the league is they said it's not reviewable," fumed Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. "If you come down the ice and shoot the puck, it hits the mesh in the back and pops out, and they didn't blow the whistle. It was in on the shot. It's just as dumb as I've ever seen." Dallas added an insurance goal on the power play with 7:17 remaining as Eriksson tapped in a feed from James Neal at the right side of the crease. Auld remained strong in net over the final 1:15 while facing Detroit with an extra skater. Ribeiro had his centering pass deflected into the Detroit net by a Wings defenseman at 9:26 of the opening period, and Niskanen blasted a shot off the right post from the point 3:52 into the second. Zetterberg's tip-in of Ville Leino's chance put the Wings on the board at 6:16 of the middle period, but Detroit couldn't cut into its deficit further until intermission. Game Notes Dallas has won four of five meetings, including three of four a season ago...The Stars open a four-game homestand by welcoming Columbus on Thursday and the Wings host the Panthers on Friday.
Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.





