Red Wings defeat Sharks in seven-round shootout

DETROIT -- Justin Abdelkader scored in the seventh round of the shootout, and the Detroit Red Wings ended a five-game home losing streak with a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.
The shootout was tied 2-2 after three rounds, and the next four shooters failed to score, with San Jose deefenseman Brent Burns hitting the crossbar on a shot that would have won the game in the fifth round.

"I must have been pretty close because they don't make those bars very thick," Burns said.
WATCH: [All Sharks vs. Red Wings highlights]
Tomas Tatar scored for the Red Wings to start round six and Chris Tierney tied it 3-3 before Abdelkader beat Martin Jones in the seventh round and Petr Mrazek stopped Tomas Hertl to end the game.

"It didn't feel good when they had two goals on their first two shots, but I have to thank our guys for scoring four goals for me," Mrazek said. "That's what got us the win."
San Jose (26-16-8) has lost four in a row (0-2-2), and is 0-2-1 since losing Joe Thornton to a knee injury.
"With [Thornton] out, a lot of guys in this room are going to have to step up, and I'm one of them," said Jones, who made 43 saves. "We can't just stop playing because he's hurt."
The Sharks were playing for the second straight night, having lost 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Kevin Labanc scored, and Jones played well one night after allowing four goals on 30 shots.

"[Jones] was the reason we had a chance to win that game," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "A point was probably a fair outcome for us."
Trevor Daley scored for Detroit (20-21-8), which was playing for the first time since the All-Star break. The Red Wings had a season-high 44 shots.

"I told the team that was a glaring area that had to get better," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think we're ranked 30th or something in shots per game (29.6). You don't have to be first or second in that stat, but you can't be 30th."
Mrazek, who has played 17 games this season as a backup to Jimmy Howard, made 30 saves. He is 3-0-1 with a .968 save percentage in his past four starts.

"When you get to play a lot of minutes you get your confidence and your swagger back," he said.
The Sharks nearly took the lead on an early power play, but Logan Couture hit the post at 3:57 of the first period.
Sharks forward Joe Pavelski hit the post at 5:44 of the third period before Daley gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 6:48. Jones appeared to stop Daley's shot from the right edge of the crease, but the puck rolled between his legs and over the goal line.
"I didn't have anything to shoot at but it just trickled in," said Daley, who missed the past three games with a lower-body injury. "I got lucky."
Labanc, playing in his 100th NHL game, made it 1-1 at 15:01, beating Mrazek from the point with a shot through traffic.

Goal of the game

Abdelkader's goal in the seventh round of the shootout.

Save of the game

Mrazek's glove save against Burns at 18:48 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Marc-Edouard Vlasic's stick check on Detroit's Andreas Athanasiou at 19:45 of the second period.

They said it

"We've played three games without [Thornton] and we've lost all three and gotten one point. That has to stop now. He's a great player but we've got to find a way to start winning hockey games without him." -- Sharks forward Logan Couture
"We have a plan for every game for who we are going to use, based on their historical numbers in the last three years and their career, plus they do a lot of shootouts after practice. You never know what's going to work." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on planning for extended shootouts

Need to know

Burns had his seven-game point streak end, and Couture failed to score a goal for the first time in four games. … The Red Wings held a moment of silence for Detroit police officer Glenn Doss Jr., who was killed in the line of duty. Blashill's father was also a Detroit police officer. … Blashill said Mrazek will start on Friday at the Carolina Hurricanes, his third start in four games.

What's next

Sharks:At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-D, FS-CR, NHL.TV)