Datsyuk Keeps Scoring, and Red Wings Benefit

Pavel Datsyuk keeps producing -- and amazing his teammates and coach.

The third-year center scored his seventh goal in five games and had an assist, and Curtis Joseph stopped 21 of 22 shots to give the host Detroit Red Wings a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Datsyuk has five assists in his last five games and leads the NHL with 39 points. His 18th goal tied him for second place with Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk.

“The players have always said he doesn’t know how good he is,” Coach Dave Lewis said. “The things he does, nobody else does. And that’s real unusual for an athlete.”

Joseph stopped Nathan Horton from close range in the first two minutes and foiled Stephen Weiss on a point-blank tip and rebound try during a Panther power play early in the second period.

Minnesota 5, Phoenix 2 -- Andrew Brunette had a goal and two assists, and the Wild spoiled the Coyotes’ last game in America West Arena.

A crowd of 13,462 turned out in the built-for-basketball venue, where 4,000 seats have an obstructed view of the ice.

After a four-game trip, the Coyotes return to play Nashville on Dec. 27 in their first game at their new arena in Glendale, Ariz. The $220-million, 17,799-seat building has been under construction since April 2002.

The NHL front-loaded the Coyotes’ schedule with road games, so they will have 28 home games at Glendale.

From Associated Press