Resurgent Blues finish strong

DETROIT -- The St. Louis Blues had one of the strongest finishes in the NHL, while the Detroit Red Wings had one of the worst.

Both teams, however, know that none of that matters once the playoffs start this week.

Pavol Demitra was one of five St. Louis players to score as the Blues beat Detroit 5-3 Sunday.

St. Louis, which will host Chicago in the first round later this week, won the final four games of the regular season and eight of 11.

Detroit, which will play Vancouver in the first round and has the NHL's best record, is winless in seven and has just one win in 10 games.

"Maybe it's a good thing to not go into the playoffs like a fat cat riding high," Detroit's Darren McCarty said. "Maybe this will give us more focus."

The Blues insist they're focused on the Blackhawks, not Detroit, which could host St. Louis in a second-round series -- if both advance.

"I'm concentrating only on the Chicago Blackhawks," Keith Tkachuk said. "We've got our hands full with them."

Sunday's St. Louis-Detroit game meant nothing in the standings, but it appeared to mean something to the players.

There was plenty of pushing and shoving throughout the game, resulting in nine penalties each, and when Cory Stillman scored the final goal at 18:19 of the third -- after hitting Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek near his neck with his stick -- a several-minute delay ensued as fans threw debris on the ice.

"These two teams are very competitive, and Detroit-St. Louis is a big rivalry," Tkachuk said. "We always play them that way, and that's the way hockey should be played."

Detroit never led St. Louis, which got off to a good start when Ray Ferraro beat Hasek for a goal 51 seconds into the game. Sergei Fedorov scored his 31st goal later in the period to tie the game at 1.

Demitra's 35th goal, on a power play, put the Blues ahead 2-1 early in the second. Scott Young's power-play goal put them ahead 3-1 later in the period.

Detroit's Kris Draper scored a shorthanded breakaway goal at 6:31 of the third, but St. Louis was able to get its two-goal lead back within a minute on Daniel Corso's goal.

Jason Williams gave the Red Wings hope for a comeback with 5:30 left in the game, when he cut their deficit to 4-3, but then Fred Brathwaite made some key saves to keep the lead.

Brathwaite, playing in just his 25th game, made 21 saves.

"It was good to have a game like that before the playoffs in case I'm needed," said Brathwaite, who will likely sit behind Brent Johnson.

Hasek, winless in six straight starts, made 23 saves. He was able to continue playing after being knocked down by Stillman behind the net.

"I gave up five goals, which is a lot," Hasek said. "I don't know what to say about it, it was a bad game. I have to play much better."

NOTES: When the Red Wings won the 1997 Stanley Cup, they were 7-7-6 in their final 20 regular-season games. They were eliminated in the first round last year after going 20-4-5 in their final 29 games. ... Fedorov played, one day after his right ankle was hit by a puck. ... Detroit's Steve Yzerman and St. Louis' Doug Weight were scratched after returning to the ice from injuries earlier this week, but are expected to be ready for the playoffs. ... St. Louis' Mike Van Ryn missed the game after injuring his groin on Saturday while Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Scott Mellanby and Shjon Podein were among the healthy scratches for the Blues. ... The Blues are in the playoffs for a 23rd straight season, a streak that tops any other in the four major sports. ... Detroit's Brett Hull played in every game this season, for the first time in his 17-year career. Hull played in 79 games during the past two seasons in Dallas, and played as many as 81 during his nine-year stint in St. Louis.