Mar 16, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader (8) is congratulated by forward Pavel Datsyuk (13) and defenseman Ian White (18) after scoring against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) (not pictured) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Six seconds in, I lost faith in Saturday night’s game.

Six minutes later, Pavel Datsyuk restored it, and led his team to a 5-2 beating of the Vancouver Canucks to make sure it never wavered again.

Yeah, there was bad to go along with the good. Detroit was, without a doubt, outplayed throughout the course of the game. But not anymore than a tired team on a road trip 3000 miles away from home should have been against a rested team at home. They were outshot as well, and if not for the solid play of Jimmy Howard, would have been outscored. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives, however; Pavel Datsyuk played possibly his best game of the year, Jimmy Howard stood on his head, Drew Miller looked good in a short stint playing next to Zetterberg and Filppula, the Wings scored their third road powerplay goal in as many games…the list goes on.

Sadly, I have to start with the bad. Alexandre Burrows scored a mere six seconds into the game off a beautiful pass from Daniel Sedin to give Vancouver the lead early. The first goal shook the Wings up a bit, and this was evident in the way they played back on their heels, victimized by the strong Canucks offense until Pavel Datsyuk knocked the puck in off of Justin Abdelkader‘s skate to tie it at one. Thanks to Jimmy Howard, that was the last of the scoring in the opening period – he made some absolutely inhuman saves, including a diving catch on a Daniel Sedin shot that BETTER end up on highlight reels over the next week.

The game remained scoreless (again, completely thanks to Jimmy Howard) until a Detroit powerplay near the end of the second period, when Henrik Zetterberg blasted in a one-timer off a perfect pass from – you guessed it, Datsyuk – to put the Wings up by one. The goal was Zetterberg’s first in 21 games, and hopefully sets a trend for him in the opposite direction; if Detroit wants to secure a playoff spot, they need production from their captain like they got tonight. Despite this goal, the Canucks continued to control the pace of the game in the second period – by the end of it, they were outshooting Detroit 25-17.

Thankfully, that trend did not continue, and the third period was all Red Wings. Zetterberg proved that his goalless streak is definitively over with another great one-timer that blew past Luongo, and Dan Cleary knocked a perfect shot in off the post to make the score 4-1. That wasn’t enough for Detroit though; after killing off a 1:27 long 5-on-3 Canucks powerplay, they got a fifth goal courtesy – AGAIN – of one Mr. Pavel Datsyuk, who used Abdelkader as a bumper for the second time tonight to make the score 5-1. Aside from a small hiccup in the form of another goal from Alexandre Burrows, that was the game.

Random notes, as always:

- Abdelkader and Zetterberg each finished with two goals (although Datsyuk should have gotten credit for both of Abby’s tallies. Datsyuk finished with three assists and the best game of his life, and Johan Franzen had two assists. Jimmy Howard played possibly his best game all season. This is what we need to win. We don’t need another top four defenseman or a top six winger. We just need to play. Also Darren Helm. We need him too.

- Brendan Smith may have finished without a point, but he’s really starting to come into his own as one of the better defensemen in the league. Can’t wait to see him pan out in the next few years.

- Filppula scored a point. Yawn. I still say 5+ million per season is too much.

Wow. Two comeback wins in two nights in Western Canada.

If this road trip is any indication, I think we have a really good shot at the playoffs, don’t you?

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter: @dzkefalas

Feb 21, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Damien Brunner (24) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Vancouver Canucks at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Trailing 3-2 after 20 minutes, Detroit exploded for six goals in the final two periods to cruise past Vancouver 8-3. Damien Brunner had his best game to date with two goals and two assists, Joakim Andersson added two late goals, and seven Red Wings had at least two points to make it a night to forget for Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

Though plagued by trade rumors again this season, Luongo entered the night leading the NHL in goals against average and second in save percentage. It appeared early on he’d have enough offense to support him thanks to two typically stellar plays by the Sedin twins.

Henrik found Daniel with a backhand pass to set up a bang-bang scoring play 5:45 into the first period, then threw an intentional pass off the corner boards to send his twin in alone at the 16:18 mark. Chris Higgins‘ unassisted goal two minutes later was enough to overcome tallies by Jordin Tootoo and Niklas Kronwall, sending the Canucks into the first intermission with a 3-2 lead.

But the Red Wings stormed out for a dominant second period thanks to a suddenly productive power play. Just 2-of-19 with the man advantage over the previous six games, Detroit found the net three straight times in the second on goals by Daniel Cleary, Henrik Zetterberg and Brunner.

Things got even worse for Luongo in the final period. Brunner scored his second of the game by simply turning and firing from just inside the blue line, and his relatively soft shot knuckled its way in. At the 16:39 mark, Andersson’s routine slap shot turned into a goal after getting deflected by a defenseman’s stick. The big center scored again just 52 seconds later by one-timing a feed from Brunner for his third career goal.

Jimmy Howard got the surprise start in goal for Detroit after Jonas Gustavsson was scratched, apparently for tweaking his previous groin injury. He was rarely tested after the first period, making just 18 saves to pick up the win.

Two consecutive wins allow the Red Wings to leave the Joe with a bit of momentum as they head to the West Coast. Detroit will visit the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night and the San Jose Sharks on Thursday before returning home for a nationally televised battle against the NHL-leading Chicago Blackhawks next Sunday.

The game was over when…

The Red Wings turned the power back on for the power play. Both Patrick Eaves and Datsyuk had apparent even strength goals wiped away in the second period (Eaves by a quick whistle, Datsyuk by a correct video review that rules he had scored with a high stick), but the PP unit made sure it didn’t matter. With the players moving the puck quickly and Kronwall letting loose with slap shots from the point, it certainly looked like a much more confident bunch than in recent weeks.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

Justin Abdelkader, despite being the only forward on the top two lines to be held pointless. Someone has to open up space for the scorers, and Abdelkader performed admirably in that role on Sunday, leading all players with five hits and generally making his presence felt.