MUST SEE: Zetterberg achieves key milestone in victory over Hurricanes

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Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings

While it’s largely been a season to forget for the Detroit Red Wings, captain Henrik Zetterberg managed to add another notch to his already impressive career resume on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.

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His ninth goal of the season broke a 1-1 tie between his Red Wings and the visiting Carolina Hurricanes; the eventual game-winner was the 355th of his career, tying him with the legendary Ted Lindsay on Detroit’s all-time goal list.

He re-directed a pass from Gus Nyquist in the slot past goaltender Scott Darling, giving Detroit the lead.

To be in such elite company is rather humbling for the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

“It’s a number that I’ve been looking at for a while and it’s special to have with him,” Zetterberg said after the game. “He meant a lot for a lot of players, not just for this team but what he did with the PA and all that. We wouldn’t be in this spot where we are now if it wasn’t for him.”

Head coach Jeff Blashill continues to be impressed by the competitive desire of Zetterberg, who despite being 37 years of age, continues to play a huge role with the club.

“His competitive fire is unreal,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “He played probably too many minutes tonight (24:28), but part of that is for the last month he’s been our best player on a nightly basis. Doesn’t really practice much and just goes out there. He’s so hyper-competitive that he just refuses to lose battles. Combine that with a hockey sense and skill-set and you get certainly one of the great Red Wings.”

Zetterberg himself never imagined that he’d play this long in the NHL or have this degree of personal success, but nevertheless, he’s happy to have achieved it with the only NHL  organization he’s ever known.

“For me to think that I would last this long and had a chance to play with all these great players for this long, I would never think that,” he said.