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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Chris Osgood played for the first time in over a month. He probably wishes he took another day off.
Osgood was back in goal for the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday
night but Pittsburgh linemates Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Jan Hrdina scored in the second period as the Penguins overcame an early deficit and beat Detroit 4-3.
|  | | Sergei Federov tries to slow down the red-hot Jaromir Jagr. |
Osgood returned after missing 16 games with a broken hand to
face the offensively-gifted Penguins, who are flourishing under new
coach Herb Brooks' attacking system.
"They don't just move down the sides like a typical team,"
Osgood said. "There's a lot of movement and they're always trying
for the perfect play."
Detroit's unbeaten streak ended at 4-0-1 as the Penguins won for
the fifth time in six games. The Red Wings lost for just the third
time in 15 contests (11-3-1).
The Penguins climbed back to .500 at 17-17-3, the first time
they've been even since they were 2-2-2 on Oct. 23.
"That's a goal we've been talking about for a long time," said
Brooks, who replaced Kevin Constantine on Dec. 9. "It's tough to
make up six games."
The Penguins are 9-3 since the coaching change.
"It was our goal to be .500 before New Year's Eve, but we
didn't do it," Jagr said. "We'll take it anyway."
Penguins rookie Jean-Sebastien Aubin had a strong game, making
34 saves, as he continues to fill in for the injured Tom Barrasso.
"We had a lot of chances but their goalie played well," Red
Wings defenseman Chris Chelios said.
With Pittsburgh trailing 2-1, Jagr scored his 32nd goal at 3:47.
At 14:56, Jagr circled behind the net and centered the puck through
three defenders from the right wing boards. Straka, who was alone
in front of the net, easily steered the puck past goalie Chris
Osgood to put the Penguins ahead.
Hrdina expanded the lead to 4-2 with his second goal of the game
at 17:58. Hrdina deflected Hans Jonsson's point shot with the shaft of his stick.
"With everything they did out there, it's kind of ironic that
the game-winner was a deflection," Osgood said.
The Red Wings got a goal back early in the third period.
Vyacheslav Kozlov powered a shot over Aubin's shoulder and in off
the crossbar for his 11th goal at 1:07. Detroit pulled Osgood with
1:16 left but couldn't get the tying goal.
Detroit scored twice in the game's first 10 minutes. Doug Brown
deflected Chelios' shot past Aubin at 1:42 and Brendan Shanahan put in a rebound during a power play at 9:46 for his 22nd goal.
"There are no easy games against that club," Detroit center
Igor Larionov said. "They play a very offensive game. Even if
you're up 2-0, you have to keep playing."
Hrdina got Pittsburgh's first goal at 13:34 of the first, converting a pinpoint pass from Straka.
Straka returned to Pittsburgh's lineup after missing seven games with injured ribs.
"He was flying," Jagr said. "He had a good game. He made good decisions."
The Penguins have gone 11-2 on home ice streak after beginning the season 0-3-2 here.
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Philadelphia 4
NY Islanders 1
Calgary 4
Vancouver 2
NY Rangers 2
Montreal 2
Pittsburgh 4
Detroit 3
San Jose 4
Chicago 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jaromir Jagr scores his league-leading 32nd goal.
avi: 442 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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