Red Wings, Wild battle to 3-3 tie

ST. PAUL (AP) -- When the Detroit Red Wings assembled an All-Star lineup of free-agent talent, complacency might have become their worst enemy.

Two periods of just that cost the Red Wings a point Wednesday night in Minnesota.

The Wild's defense bottled up Detroit for the first 40 minutes, and Minnesota held a lead before Luc Robitaille's goal late in the third rallied the Red Wings to a 3-3 tie.

Minnesota limited the Red Wings to 11 shots in the first two periods.

"The shots didn't really reflect play, but all of a sudden it's the third period and you're down a goal," Brendan Shanahan said. "I'd like to see us build on a lead instead of sitting on a lead."

In overtime, the Red Wings' defense held Minnesota to one shot during a two-minute power play, which preserved the tie and extended Detroit's unbeaten string to four games.

Detroit's other two goals were by Steve Yzerman, who left the game midway through the game after a hit on the left ankle from Jason Marshall's shot.

On the game-tying play, Minnesota defenseman Willie Mitchell tried to swat the puck away from the front of the net, but Robitaille intercepted it and got off a shot with goalie Manny Fernandez out of position.

Mitchell gave Minnesota its first lead of the game when he broke a 2-2 tie early in the third, banking a low shot goalie Dominik Hasek.

"We had something to prove," said Minnesota center Wes Walz, recalling Detroit's 8-3 win in November.