DETROIT -- Jimmy Howard certainly isnt playing like a backup goalie.Howard stopped 36 shots and the Detroit Red Wings beat the skidding Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Thursday night.Howard saves us again. Goaltending, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. I thought we had a good start, got the goal early but then we started to play a little too cute, let them back in the game. A little bit too stubborn with turnovers again. You cant do that against this team.After opening the season as the No. 2 man in net behind Petr Mrazek, Howard made his third consecutive start. He improved his goals-against average to 1.22 and his save percentage to .961.Howard is 4-2-0 in seven games, six starts.When I get in there, I just want to give the team a chance to win, he said.Dylan Larkin, Brendan Smith and Steve Ott scored for Detroit. Zetterberg, matched against Canucks captain and fellow Swede Henrik Sedin most of the game, had two assists.We came out good. I thought through large stretches of the game we werent good enough, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. I think were going to have to be better. Now with that said, they do a good job.Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver, which is 1-9-1 in its last 11 games. Ryan Miller made 24 saves.Miller made a spectacular stop after he began to leave the crease for an extra attacker. Zetterberg got a hold of the puck in the neutral zone and lobbed a shot at the almost-empty net, but Miller made a glove save while diving to his right.We played pretty well tonight, but it is the same story again, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. Were getting good chances and nothing is going in.Daniel Sedin cut it to 2-1 at 3:14 of the third period. He finished off a pretty back-and-forth passing play with twin brother Henrik by beating Howard with a shot from the bottom of the left circle. It was Daniel Sedins fifth goal.The Sedins were not matched against Zetterbergs line for the goal.Were playing our system and were creating chances. We just cant get anything to go in, Daniel Sedin said. We have to figure this out, because we cant keep saying this every night. Were playing well enough to win games, but we need to put the puck in the net.Otts first goal with the Red Wings restored Detroits two-goal lead with 4:46 left. He tipped in defenseman Jonathan Ericssons shot from the left point.Detroit led 2-0 after the first.Larkin opened the scoring 32 seconds into the game when he put in the rebound of Zetterbergs shot. It was Larkins team-leading fifth goal.Smith made it 2-0 with 1:47 left in the opening period. His slap shot from the point in the middle of the ice trickled through Miller for his second goal.Game notes Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou left after the first period with a lower-body injury. Athanasiou took a hit from Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin. Blashill did not have an update after the game. ... Vancouver sent forward Jake Virtanen to its American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets, on Wednesday. Virtanen has one assist in 10 games. ... Detroits healthy scratches were D Xavier Ouellet, D Ryan Sproul and LW Drew Miller, the brother of Vancouver G Ryan Miller. ... Canucks scratches were D Alex Biega and D Philip Larsen.UP NEXTCanucks: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.Red Wings: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Cheap 49ers Jerseys . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Nick Bosa Jersey Large . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Nick Bosa Jersey Large . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Custom Nick Bosa Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. MISSOULA, Mont. -- Shannon Schweyen has been promoted to head coach of the Montana womens basketball team that she helped coach for the past 24 seasons.Athletic director Kent Haslam says Schweyen accepted the job Saturday and signed a three-year contract Monday. She takes over the program that Robin Selvig coached to 865 wins over 38 seasons.Schweyen, who played at Montana as Shannon Cate from 1988 to 1992, was a two-time Big Sky Conference MVP. She said Wednesday that she feels fortunate to carry on the tradition Selvig established, including recruiting in-state players and focusing on defense.ddddddddddddHaslam says Schweyen wasnt hired out of loyalty, but that she has a vision for the program and earned the opportunity to coach the Lady Griz. Montana has two open assistant coaching positions. ' ' '