Wings beat Kings as Lidstrom reaches 1,000 career points

10/16/2009

DETROIT - Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European defenseman and eighth overall to reach 1,000 points, assisting on two goals in the Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings last night.

The Swedish star has 229 goals and 771 assists in 1,336 career games.

Jonathan Ericsson and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby and Brian Rafalski also scored, and Chris Osgood made 24 saves for the Red Wings. Dustin Brown and Justin Williams scored for Los Angeles, and Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots.

Detroit scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.

Ericsson's second goal of the season tied it 3:34 into the period. He beat Quick with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle near the boards after Justin Abdelkader won a faceoff in the Kings' zone. It was Abdelkader's first career regular-season point. Holmstrom's power-play goal gave the Red Wings the lead 8:47 into the period. He tipped in Lidstrom's shot from the point.

Zetterberg made it 3-1 with a power-play goal 3:24 into the third period. He deflected Lidstrom's slap pass past Quick.

Williams pulled Los Angeles within a goal with 8:03 left when he tipped in Sean O'Donnell's slap shot from the point.

Malby restored the two-goal lead with 5:17 left, slapping in a loose puck from the slot. Rafalski added an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Brown opened the scoring 5:41 into the game when he chipped in a loose puck from a scramble for his first goal of the season.

NOTES: Detroit was without C Pavel Datsyuk because of an upper-body injury. ... Los Angeles D Jack Johnson played at the University of Michigan.