THE DETROIT Red Wings are losing track of how many games in a row they've won at home.
Detroit won its 23rd straight at Joe Louis Arena, setting an NHL multiple-season mark for home dominance, by holding on to beat the San Jose Sharks yesterday, 3-2.
"Where are we at with the streak?" asked Drew Miller, who scored for the Red Wings. "The streak is cool, but we're more concerned with how we're playing and to keep our spot in the race."
The Red Wings won their sixth straight game, all in one homestand, and have an NHL-high 84 points. They broke the league's single-season record of 20 straight home wins on Tuesday, and have surpassed the 22 wins in a row the Boston Bruins had over two seasons more than 8 decades ago.
"We've got a good thing going, but we need to take it on the road," Miller said.
The Red Wings have won nearly 90 percent of their games at home but are .500 away from Joe Louis Arena.
Joey MacDonald, who had been the team's third-string goaltender, made 31 saves for his sixth straight win.
* At Buffalo, Derek Roy scored twice and added an assist as the Sabres snapped a four-game skid with a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Buffalo moved out of a tie with Carolina for last place in the East.
The Penguins announced before the game that they have signed left wing James Neal to a 6-year contract extension that will pay him an average of $5 million per season.
* At St. Paul, Minn., Matt Cullen and Chad Rau each scored a goal and Niklas Backstrom made a career-high 48 saves for his fourth shutout to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 2-0 win over the Boston Bruins.
* At Montreal, Zach Parise, David Clarkson and Matt Taormina scored and Martin Brodeur made 21 saves to help the New Jersey Devils beat the Canadiens, 3-1. The Devils jumped past the Flyers and Pittsburgh into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
* At Chicago, Dave Bolland scored the go-ahead goal in the third period when his centering attempt hit the stick of St. Louis' David Backes and went in as the Blackhawks rallied to beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1.
* At Winnipeg, Bryan Little scored twice and the Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-1, and moved into a tie with Toronto for eighth places in the Eastern Conference.
Ondrej Pavelec made 31 saves to help the Jets, playing the second game in an eight-game homestand, increase their winning streak to three and close within a point of Southeast Division-leading Florida.
* At Edmonton, Daniel and Henrik Sedin each had a goal and an assist as Vancouver defeated the Oilers, 5-2.
* At Sunrise, Fla., Teemu Selanne scored his 657th NHL goal and Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in the Anaheim Ducks' 2-0 victory over the Florida Panthers.
* At Dallas, Shea Weber scored on a power play with less than a second remaining in the first period and the Nashville Predators beat the Stars, 3-2.
