Blues surrender big lead, settle for 4-4 tie with Wings

ST. LOUIS -- Pavel Datsyuk and Brett Hull scored in a 57-second span late in the third period and the Detroit Red Wings rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the Blues 4-4 Thursday night.

The Red Wings scored four times on their first 11 shots of the third against former teammate Chris Osgood. Hull has 730 goals and needs one to tie Marcel Dionne for third place on the career list.

Hull, Datsyuk and Steve Thomas each had a goal and an assist for Detroit.

The comeback rescued goalie Dominik Hasek, who played for the first time in nine games due to a groin injury. He gave up goals on two of the first three shots he faced and three of the first 10.

Chris Pronger had two goals and an assist and Keith Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for the Blues. St. Louis tried to sit on a 3-0 second-period lead, totaling eight shots the last two periods, and paid for it.

The Red Wings stayed in first place in the Central Division with 33 points, two more than the Blues.

The Red Wings had only five shots at the midway point in the game, but cut the gap to one on goals by Steve Thomas and Steve Yzerman in the third period. Pronger answered for the Blues with 9:10 left.

Datsyuk's 11th goal again cut the gap to one on a rebound with 4:43 to go, and Hull tied it with his 17th goal with 3:46 remaining.

off a Datsyuk setup. The shot ricocheted off the post, hit Osgood in the back and then rolled into the net.

Pronger deflected a pass from Pavol Demitra on a 3-on-2 break to put the Blues ahead at 4:41 of the first. They made it 2-0 on their next shot only 1:11 later when Pronger's point shot was blocked in front and Scott Mellanby recovered the puck, centering it to Tkachuk in the slot for his fifth goal in six games.

Bryce Salvador scored from the left point at 2:02 of the third for a 3-0 lead, beating Hasek with a high shot to the glove side. It was his first point in 13 games this season.

Notes: Blues D Alexander Khavanov, a goat in the loss to the Red Wings on Saturday when he left Boyd Devereaux alone in front of the net for the winning goal, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... The Red Wings are 4-0-1 in their last five games, outscoring their opponents 26-8.