Captain gets assist in 1st home game

By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Fans had an opportunity to see Steve Yzerman on the ice at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday, a rare sight over the first few weeks of the season.

They also got to see a Red Wings victory, which has been anything but rare this season.

In fact, common is more like it now that the Wings have won 10 of their first 11 games, the best start in their history.

With Yzerman in the lineup for just the third time this season, the Wings handled the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2.

It also was goalie Manny Legace's 10th victory. Legace, who has started every game, set an NHL record for most victories by a goalie in October.

"First place, that's all it means right now," Legace said. "It's just an honor to put on the jersey and go to work this group of guys."

Legace and the Wings' penalty-killing unit were the big reasons why the Wings kept the Blackhawks within reach.

"He'll be humble, but the reality is, he set some kind of record," coach Mike Babcock said. "The league has been around for a while. If you set a record, you've earned the right to have that record. You should be proud of yourself, at least for a few minutes."

Defenseman Mathieu Schneider got his second power-play goal of the game from an almost identical blast from inside the blue line at 11:58 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie.

Kris Draper got his first goal of the season, with Yzerman getting an assist, to make it 4-2 and Brendan Shanahan completed the scoring. Henrik Zetterberg also scored for the Wings.

Matt Ellison and Jaroslav Spacek scored for the Blackhawks.

It was an uneven performance by the Wings, who played one of their poorest periods of the season in the first but got stronger midway through the game.

"It was persistence," Schneider said. "If you look at our team, we're always working hard. Halfway through the game, we began working smart."

Yzerman, who had missed eight games because of a groin injury, played for the first time at home this season.

He previously played during a trip to Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Yzerman was on a line with Draper and Kirk Maltby, playing just 9:44 over 15 shifts. Draper and Maltby played extensive time on the penalty kill, severely impacting Yzerman's shifts.

"Tonight was frustrating for him," Babcock said of Yzerman, "because the coach didn't play him. We know he's a big part of things.

"He needs to be out there and get some rhythm. He's a really good player, we all know that. He'll work his way back."

Babcock was pleased with the way the Wings worked their way back from a subpar first period.

"We weren't ready," Babcock said of the opening 20 minutes. "Between the players and myself, we didn't get the job done to set the tone. We were good enough defensively, and Manny did a good job, and gave us a chance to get going."