That was until the Wings turned up both the quality and quantity of shots on Lehtonen, breaking through in a big way. Valtteri Filppula scored two goals on typically beautiful assists from Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg added a goal and an assist as Detroit skated by Dallas 4-1.

January 29, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula (51) receives congratulations from right wing Todd Bertuzzi (44) after scoring in the second period against the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Stars struck first about halfway through the game on Loui Eriksson‘s third goal of the season. Jaromir Jagr made a heads up more to keep play moving forward while the Wings were in the process of changing lines, leading to a 2-on-1 break. Cody Eakin timed his pass across the Detroit crease perfectly for an easy conversion for Eriksson.

Lehtonen’s dominance of Detroit came to an end three minutes later. Datsyuk was able to scoop up a loose puck behind the Dallas goal line before skating behind the net and feeding Filppula in front.

The go-ahead score came courtesy of Zetterberg after a frantic sequence of penalties late in the second period. High sticking calls to both Jamie Benn and Ray Whitney gave Detroit a brief 4-on-3 power play that became a 5-on-3 when Zetterberg emerged from the box at the end of his tripping call. The captain played a little give and go with Patrick Eaves in the offensive zone to set up a high slap shot that found the twine just 24 seconds before the second intermission.

A pair of insurance goals 23 seconds apart sealed the game up in the third period. Damien Brunner was able to deflect a point shot from Johan Franzen by Lehtonen, and Filppula tallied for the second time after a sweet individual move by Datsyuk to draw the defense out of position. Lehtonen got a rare rest with 4:30 left in the game when he was pulled in favor of Richard Bachman.

Detroit’s Jimmy Howard made the most difficult of his 25 saves early in the contest. The Wings penalty killers also shined, blanking the Stars on all five of their power plays and generating a breakaway for Filppula that nearly got him a hat trick.

Todd Bertuzzi suffered cuts that required stitches when he was struck by Benn’s high stick in the second period, but he returned and assisted on Filppula’s second goal. Brendan Smith also escaped serious harm despite appearing to be bloodied by Whitney’s stick.

The Red Wings will have two nights to rest before facing the 5-1 St. Louis Blues on Friday night. Then it’s off to Columbus on Saturday for a visit to the Blue Jackets, but at least the team won’t be having any recurring nightmares of Lehtonen to take with them this time around.

The game was over when…

The Wings scored two goals so quickly in the second period. There was a bit of a lull in the momentum when Brunner’s goal needed to be upheld by replay, but Datsyuk made sure to restore it in a heartbeat. The Magic Man made a nifty individual move to skate in on Lehtonen’s left, and his typically precise pass left Filppula with little to do but make sure he put his shot on net.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

Probably all of the fourth-liners for keeping the energy level high in a scoreless first period (the Wings haven’t scored in the first period of any game this year), but a special shout out goes to Jordin Tootoo. You don’t like the fact that Tootoo had a premeditated fight with Eric Nystrom three seconds into the game? That’s cool, because he also threw down with Brenden Dillon later in the first. Detroit didn’t have a guy like that last season, and when Tootoo wasn’t fighting, he was still contributing with physical play–and even a glimpse or two of offense.

Michael Ryder scored twice for the Stars, and only a late tally from Damien Brunner–his first in the NHL–kept the Wings from being blanked for the second time in the young season as they fell to Dallas 2-1. Keri Lehtonen was a big part of Detroit’s offensive woes, making 39 saves before Brunner put one past him less than four seconds shy of a shutout.

January 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) makes a save on a shot by Detroit Red Wings left wing Johan Franzen (93) in the third period at Joe Louis Arena. Dallas won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It was Ryder who appeared to have the most jump in his legs early, not a shocker since the Wings needed a shootout to defeat the Blue Jackets in Columbus the night before. He opened the scoring at the 5:41 mark of the first period, when his shot from above the left circle appeared to change direction off the stick of Kyle Quincey before zooming over the right shoulder of Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard.

Ryder padded the Dallas lead 5:34 into the third frame. Ray Whitney had his initial shot blocked by Brian Lashoff, but the 40-year old forward was able to recover his own rebound and send it over to Ryder to slot by Howard from the right circle. Ryder and linemates Derek Roy and Jaromir Jagr caused havoc for the Wings all night, combining for 17 shots.

Howard was the primary reason they didn’t do more damage, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced. Several were of the highlight reel variety, including a diving glove save to rob Reilly Smith about halfway through the third period.

The netminder also bailed his teammates out of trouble on their own power play on several occasions. Detroit’s power play futility stretched to a third straight game, going 0-for-4 with the man advantage and surrendering a number of shorthanded chances in the other direction.

Wings coach Mike Babcock switched up his forward lines late int he second period to try to find a spark, separating Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk for the first extended time this season. Both forwards had good scoring chances after that, but Lehtonen proved up to any challenge until Brunner found the twine with Howard off for an extra skater.

That was too little, too late, and the Wings will finally get two nights off before returning to the Joe on Friday to face the Minnesota Wild. And they certainly need the break, with defenseman Ian White leaving the game late. Detroit already had to press Kent Huskins into immediate duty after signing him earlier in the day, and the team’s ever growing list of injured players includes Darren Helm, Mikael Samulesson, Carlo Colaiacovo, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl, Jan Mursak and Jonas Gustavsson.

The game was over when…

The Wings failed to score on their fourth power play, which came with just under eight minutes left in regulation. Niklas Kronwall had a good chance cutting into the slot that was stopped by Lehtonen, and the rest of the advantage expired the same way most of the team’s power plays have in 2013: harmlessly. A score there could have made Brunner’s first NHL goal mean something.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

Probably the team’s tailor for keeping all of the injured players nattily attired. On the ice, it was Justin Abdelkader, who looked like he had plenty of energy and was the most successful forward at keeping the puck in the Dallas zone to help generate sustained pressure.