from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

On an emotional night for Zadina, the goal was the icing on the ice, so to speak.

Obviously it felt pretty good, Zadina admitted to no ones surprise. It felt even better that I could help the team to win the game.

It felt amazing.

On November 5, Zadina broke his leg while also helping the team, by putting his body in harms way to block a shot. In this instance, harm won the day.

Theres nothing that causes more soul-searching and encapsulates an athlete in a solo roller-coaster ride of emotion than the endurance challenge that is rehab from an injury.

It truly is Groundhog Day for them. Every day is the same. Get up. Work to rebuild the damaged tissue. Battle to regain that elite level of conditioning enabling them to play in the NHL. Keep grinding through the ups and downs, both physical and mental.

Yeah, its been a long time and Ive been waiting for the chance to be on the ice with them, Zadina said of his teammates. It happened today and I was just going to the game and just thinking about enjoying the game, playing the right way obviously and trying to do something on the ice....

You see him gone for a long time, Detroit goalie Ville Husso said. I know how hard he works. Its so nice for him....

He just put his head down, Lalonde said. He worked hard. These guys are pros, but this was different. He just attacked it.

Real happy for him. Even talked to him before the game, it would be hard not to notice what he put into it. And he got rewarded.

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from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Zadina found himself on a two-on-one rush with Oskar Sundqvist, after a pass from Robert Hagg (who incidentally was playing his first game since Dec. 8 and earned an assist on the goal). Zadina passed to Sundqvist, who hesitated then found a wide open Zadina as goalie Dan Vladar over-committed, Zadina firing into an open net.

"I had two or three options," Zadina said. "I could shoot, pass to Olli (Maatta trailing the play), but I just saw Sunny (Sundqvist) and he was ready for the puck and I passed it to him, he looked like he was going to shoot. But of all sudden the puck came back to me and I had an empty net."...

Lalonde felt this victory was more played to the Wings' identity and the way they have to play to be successful.

"That's how it has to look for us to win, and we got it done," Lalonde said. "When we've won, and we've won good games like that, that's how it has looked. Just a more complete game tonight. I'd have to look at the underlying numbers but it felt like one of those with less than 10 chances (allowed), in those single digits, and we've had four or five of those (games).

"It was just a complete game and we got rewarded."...

"It's playoff hockey for us (already)," Husso said. "Thirty games left, we still want to make it and it's on us. We need to come in every night and play like that and give ourselves a chance to win."

Husso credited the penalty killing, which was crucial the latter half of the third with two big, timely kills.

"Huge part of the game when the PK is working and guys are blocking shots and being in the lanes, getting the puck out of the zone," Husso said. "All those little things, guys did a great job."

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