DETROIT -- The offensively challenged and banged-up Detroit Red Wings proved to the defending Stanley Cup champions that theyre

DETROIT -- The offensively challenged and banged-up Detroit Red Wings proved to the defending Stanley Cup champions that theyre still tough to beat. Detroit Red Wings Shirts . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. "Were a little depleted, but we still have a great team and we showed that," said Patrick Eaves, who had the second of his teams three goals in the shootout and a game-tying goal in the first period. "It was nice to get rewarded for playing well." The Blackhawks faced Detroit for the first time since beating the Red Wings in overtime in Game 7 of their second-round series last year to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. They are only scheduled to play one more time in the regular season because the Red Wings were moved to the Eastern Conference this season as part of the NHLs realignment. "Any time you play the Red Wings, its going to be an intense game given the rivalry and whats happened in the past," Chicagos Patrick Kane said. "Theyre playing through some injuries and havent had any luck as of late in that area, but its still a dangerous team. Sometimes you get these young guys that come up from the minors, they want to prove themselves and prove they belong." Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored on his teams first attempt in the shootout and Patrick Sharp scored on the second before Kane was stopped with a chance to win a game the Blackhawks led 2-0 in the first period. "They played better as the game went along," Toews said. Gustavsson, playing for the injured Jimmy Howard, made 31 saves in his first game in nearly a month. "It was a good test and I felt good," said Gustavsson, who has been on injured reserve three times this season with a groin injury. "I didnt feel any pain." Corey Crawford gave up four goals on the first 17 shots he faced and finished with 27 saves for the Blackhawks. "We werent very good," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "They worked hard. They were a hard-working team." Chicago took a 2-0 lead when Marian Hossa and Shaw scored 1:45 apart midway through the first period and it looked like the Red Wings were in trouble. Tomas Tatar, though, scored less than a minute later and Eaves tied the game at 2 late in the opening period. "To make it 2-1 was a key in the game," Eaves said. Sharps slap shot just seconds into a power play early in the second put the Blackhawks ahead again, but Kyle Quincey responded 1:17 later in the period with a game-tying goal. Detroits Gustav Nyquist was set up perfectly in front of the net on a go-ahead goal off Henrik Zetterbergs third assist of the night after Justin Abdelkader hustled for loose puck in a corner. "Abby played hard and chased down the puck and set up Z," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings were without injured forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson and Joakim Andersson. They did get defenceman Jonathan Ericsson in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 when he broke ribs in a game against the New York Islanders. "Getting Big E back made a huge difference for us matchup-wise," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. NOTES: Datsyuk missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury, but has begun to skate again and said he will "for sure" play for Russia has its captain next month at the Winter Olympics. ... Crawford hadnt given up four goals since Dec. 5, 2013, since a 4-3 loss to Minnesota and had allowed five goals in two games earlier in the season. ... Chicago was 9-0-1 in its previous 10 regular season games in Detroit. ... Kane hasnt scored in 11 games, the longest streak without a goal since going 12 games without a goal during the 2008-09 season. ... Detroit plays March 16 at Chicago. Detroit Red Wings Gear . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal. Red Wings Jerseys 2020 .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. https://www.cheapredwings.com/ . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday.NEW YORK -- Michael Sam was picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft Saturday, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. Sam played at Missouri, and came out as gay in media interviews earlier this year. His team and coaches knew his secret and kept it for his final college season. He went on to have the best season of his career: He was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year. "Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis. Im using every once of this to achieve greatness!!" Sam tweeted with a frenzied typo moments after he was picked, including a picture of himself wearing a Rams cap and a pink polo shirt. The pick came after several rounds of suspense. The first round of the day came and went, no Sam. Then the second, and the third, and finally, the day was down to just a handful of picks. When Mike Kensil, the NFLs vice-president of game operations, walked to the podium at Radio City Music Hall in the drafts final minutes to announce the Rams second-to-last pick, the crowd got a sense something was up. Very few of the last day picks were announced at the podium. Twitter lit up with suggestions the Rams were about to make news. When Kensil said: "The St. Louis Rams select ... Michael Sam..." the fans gave a hearty cheer, chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and "Michael Sam!" Sam was in San Diego watching with friends and family at the home of his agent, Joe Barkett of Empire Athletes. ESPN and the NFL Network had cameras there and showed Sams reaction. Sam was on the phone bending over, with his boyfriend hugging him and rubbing his left bicep. When Sam got off the phone, the tears started. He gave his boyfriend a big kiss and a long hug as he cried and his eyes reddened. After, they shared cake -- and another kiss. Sam will start his professional career not ffar from the place where he played his college ball, with three former Missouri teammates. Red Wings Jerseys 2021. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Sam was considered a mid-to-late round pick, far from a sure thing to be drafted. He played defensive end in college, but hes short for that position in the NFL and slower than most outside linebackers, the position hell need to transition to at the professional level. He was taken with the 249th overall pick out of 256. Players from Marist, Maine and McGill University in Canada were selected before Sam. "In the world of diversity we live in now, Im honoured to be a part of this," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said during an interview on ESPN. The impact of Sams selection goes far beyond football. At a time when gay marriage is gaining acceptance among Americans, Sams entry into the NFL is a huge step toward the integration of gay men into professional team sports. Pro sports have in many ways lagged behind the rest of society in acceptance. Publicly, most people in and related to the NFL have been supportive of Sam. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said Sam would be welcome in the league and judged solely on his ability to play. A few wondered whether teams would be reluctant to draft Sam because of all the media attention that would come with it. Fair or not, the NFL -- coming off a season in which a bullying scandal involving players on the Miami Dolphins was one of the biggest stories in sports -- was looking at a possible public relations hit if Sam was not drafted. He would likely have been signed as a free agent and given a chance to make a team in training camp, but to many it would have looked as if he was being rejected. Now that hes there, it could be seen as an opportunity for the NFL to show that crass locker room culture is not as prevalent as it might have looked to those who followed the embarrassing Dolphins scandal. ' ' '