KHABIBULIN PULLED 2ND NIGHT IN A ROW

Pavel Datsyuk and Mathieu Schneider each had a goal and two assists, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Sunday night for their third straight win.

Newly acquired defenseman Cory Cross, Brendan Shanahan and Henrik Zetterberg also scored for Detroit, which has won five of six and 11 of 13.

The Red Wings built a 3-0 lead in the opening 6:57 and beat the Blackhawks for the sixth time this season and seventh in a row overall. The Blackhawks haven't defeated Detroit since Dec. 28, 2003.

Chris Osgood made 17 saves as the Red Wings followed up a 6-4 victory Saturday night and swept the home-and-home series.

Mikael Holmqvist, Patrick Sharp and Mark Cullen scored for Chicago, which lost its third straight and eighth in 10.

Nikolai Khabibulin started in goal for Chicago, but was pulled for the second straight game after allowing three goals on five shots. Craig Anderson came on in relief and gave up two goals on 23 shots.

Cross opened the scoring at 1:49 during his first shift with the Red Wings. He pinched in up the slot, took Robert Lang's centering pass and fired a high shot past Khabibulin's glove side.

Cross was acquired from Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Shanahan made it 2-0 at 4:06 with his 30th goal, becoming the 10th NHL player to reach the mark in 12 seasons. Shanahan surprised Khabibulin on the short side from a sharp angle with a quick shot after Datsyuk dropped a pass back from behind the net.

Datsyuk stretched Detroit's lead to 3-0 1:51 later. After slipping behind Chicago's defense and taking a feed from Schneider, Datsyuk faked a backhand shot and beat Khabibulin with a forehand.

Holmqvist cut it to 3-1 with 5 minutes left in the first. He converted a rebound of Milan Bartovic's shot, set up by a Detroit turnover.

Sharp's goal at 5:26 of the second period closed it to 3-2 but Zetterberg's power-play score at 3:40 of the third gave Detroit a two-goal advantage.

Cullen's deflection with 9:34 left in the third made it to 4-3.

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