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  Friday, Dec. 17 7:30pm ET
Wings explode for 4 goals in 5:18
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings made old nemesis Patrick Roy feel like he'd already played a full game after just two periods Friday night.

Patrick Roy
Detroit's Pat Verbeek, right, scores on Colorado goalie Patrick Roy.

Brendan Shanahan and Doug Brown scored short-handed goals 11 seconds apart late in the second period as the Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2.

The Red Wings, who have won five straight, also got goals from Sergei Fedorov and Slava Kozlov in a four-goal blitz over the final 5:45 of the second period that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead.

Roy faced 31 shots in just two periods and gave up all five Detroit goals before he was replaced by Marc Denis, who stopped all nine shots he faced in the third.

"They deserved what happened," Roy said. "The score maybe doesn't show what it should be."

Detroit outshot Colorado 40-15.

Pat Verbeek had a goal and an assist for Detroit. Ken Wregget made 13 saves in his second straight win.

The Red Wings have the NHL's best home record (15-3-1), most wins (21) and points (46). The latter is just two behind the 32-game pace of the 1995-96 Red Wings, who set an NHL record with 131 points.

"It's a long way off from where we are now, so we can't think about that," Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said.

Chris Drury and Brian Rolston scored for the Avalanche, who have lost two straight after winning four of their previous five.

"We didn't play well at all tonight," Colorado's Peter Forsberg said. "They were much hungrier than we were tonight. That's what happens when you work hard."

Colorado took a 2-1 lead when Forsberg passed out of a crowd to Rolston in the left circle, who beat Wregget at 4:46 of the second.

Then the Red Wings' assault began when Verbeek, distracting Roy near the crease, managed to nudge a pass across the goalmouth that Fedorov, who misfired on a couple of good chances earlier, converted at 14:15.

"We were making good plays and eventually something's going to go your way," Fedorov said.

Roy left a rebound of Larry Murphy's shot bounce loose near the net, and Kozlov knocked it in at 18:11.

With Detroit's Darryl Laplante off for elbowing Adam Deadmarsh, Shanahan picked up a Colorado giveaway and broke in on Roy. He drew the goalie to the right of the net before skating across and tucking a backhander into the left side with 38 seconds remaining in the period.

"Patty saved us (earlier)," Forsberg said, "but even he can't save everything."

Just 11 seconds later -- and with Laplante still in the penalty box -- Brown took the puck from Adam Foote in the left circle and beat Roy with another backhander.

"We had a lot of shots and weren't able to score, so we felt we deserved it because we created a lot of opportunities that didn't go in," Brown said. "The odds are good that eventually something will go in."

The Detroit record for shortest time between goals is seven seconds, done twice previously. Shanahan and Brown tied the Red Wings' record for most short-handed goals in a period.

"We have great special teams," Colorado coach Bob Hartley said, "but the two short-handed goals were the difference in the game."

Drury gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead just 2:42 into the game when he launched a rising shot from just inside the Detroit line that deflected off Wregget's glove and into the net.

But the Red Wings, who outshot Colorado 16-3 in the first, answered only 22 seconds later when Steve Yzerman chased a loose puck behind the Colorado net and fed it in front to Verbeek, who beat Roy point-blank.
 


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RECAPS
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Detroit 5
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Washington 3
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AUDIO/VIDEO
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 Pat Verbeek scores the first goal for Detroit.
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