Red Wings Report: Inside Shots
An ugly incident and a slew of injuries in recent years threatened to shorten Todd Bertuzzi's career. But, Sunday in Minnesota, the Red Wings power forward played in his 1,000th game, a special milestone that he even wondered if he'd ever be able to reach.
"I was lucky to get a second shot at coming back to Detroit, playing some fun hockey and around some quality, quality guys," Bertuzzi said. "I've played on some good teams and with some good players, but I'm pretty proud and excited to be playing in a Detroit uniform."
Bertuzzi capped his milestone game by scoring in a shootout, which sealed his team's 2-1 victory.
Bertuzzi has found stability with the Wings after one-year stints in Anaheim and Calgary. He regretted leaving Detroit as a free agent following his brief stay in 2006-07. But he is extremely grateful to have gotten a second opportunity in August 2009.
Bertuzzi missed 67 games in 2006-07, mostly with Florida, due to back surgery. He missed time the next two seasons due to a variety of injuries (concussion, knee, hip flexor, groin). But he has been remarkably durable during his second stint in Detroit -- he hasn't missed a game, having played 153 in a row, regular season and playoffs, heading into Tuesday's game against San Jose at Joe Louis Arena.
The lasting image many fans have of Bertuzzi is his March 8, 2004 incident with Steve Moore, when he sucker-punched the Colorado forward from behind and landed on top of him. Moore sustained a career-ending neck injury and Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season.
Bertuzzi still is booed in several arenas because of the incident but has managed to piece his career back together.
RED WINGS 2, WILD 1 (SO): The Wings were strong defensively and goaltender Jimmy Howard was sharp (25 saves). They pressured Minnesota's defense and had several scoring chances against Niklas Backstrom (38 saves). After two scoreless periods, the teams exchanged goals in the third, as Nicklas Lidstrom scored for Detroit at 1:10 and Martin Havlat for Minnesota at 4:50. The Wings played a patient game and were rewarded for it in the shootout, as Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi, who playing his 1,000th game, scored goals. The Red Wings have won five consecutive games, a season high.
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