Darren Helm scored with 1:27 remaining in the third period to snap a tie and the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings staved off elimination Friday with a 4-3 home victory over the second-seeded San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Hoping to avoid becoming the victim of San Jose's first playoff series sweep, Detroit built a 3-0 lead but let it slip away. The Red Wings made sure they'd live to play another day as Helm received a cross-slot pass from Patrick Eaves and beat Antti Niemi from the left faceoff circle for a 4-3 lead.
Captain Nicklas Lidstrom scored a pair of goals, Todd Bertuzzi recorded a tally and an assist and Jimmy Howard made 25 saves for Detroit, which was eliminated by San Jose in five games in the conference semifinals last season.
Calder Trophy finalist Logan Couture notched a goal and an assist, defenseman Dan Boyle and Dany Heatley also scored and Ryane Clowe collected three assists for the Sharks, who host Game 5 on Sunday.
Bertuzzi opened the scoring at 6:22 of the first period, using a spin move above the right faceoff circle before unleashing a backhander that deflected off the stick of Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray and past Niemi, who stopped 36 shots.
Lidstrom gave Detroit a 2-0 lead at 11:09, blasting the rebound of Dan Cleary's shot past Niemi from the left circle for his 181st career playoff point. With the point, the Norris Trophy candidate passed Hall of Famer Ray Bourque for second among defensemen and tied Jaromir Jagr for 11th overall on the all-time list.
The 41-year old Lidstrom was not finished as he cashed in on a power play with 1:59 remaining in the session to make it 3-0. From the high slot, he batted the puck out of mid-air and bounced it past Niemi for his 54th career postseason goal.
Couture got San Jose on the board 15 seconds later by deflecting Clowe's shot from along the left wing boards past Howard. Boyle cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second, converting a cross-slot pass from Kyle Wellwood with 6:16 to play.
The Sharks pulled even just 74 seconds into the third when Clowe made a pass from behind the net to Heatley, who beat Howard from the doorstep .