The Red Wings had their season-high five-game winning streak snapped by San Jose Tuesday in a 4-3 loss, but Dan Cleary and his line certainly did everything they could to keep the club rolling.

Cleary scored two goals, giving him a career-high 21 in just 46 games.

Jiri Hudler, who has rebounded well after a terrible start to this season, assisted on both. Pavel Datsyuk didn't record a point but continues to be the catalyst on that line and for the team since his return on Feb. 7 from a broken hand.

"They've been excellent," coach Mike Babcock said. "They've been working. Their legs are going and they're competing hard. When you do that you have a chance to be successful. Huds made some plays for them. Cleary's at the net all the time. They got it going, they were our best line by far tonight."

Cleary has five goals in his last six games and 10 points in his last eight games heading into Thursday's game against Dallas at Joe Louis Arena.

Cleary's previous career-best was 20 goals -- in 2006-07 (71 games) and 2007-08 (63 games). He missed 14 games with a broken ankle this season, but otherwise has been much healthier than last year, when he was hampered by knee, groin and wrist issues.

SHARKS 4, RED WINGS 3: The Wings have been getting stingier defensively, but they were not as tight as they needed to be against the Sharks, allowing too many shots (43) and scoring chances. This time, their potent offense could not compensate. San Jose and its big, talented forwards spent a lot of time cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Devin Setoguchi's second goal of the game at 13:12 of the third period gave the Sharks a 4-2 lead. The Wings rallied late, getting a power-play goal from Henrik Zetterberg at 18:09. They had a few great chances in the final minute but were foiled by goaltender Antti Niemi.

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