Riley Sheahan dished up some impressive one-on-one skills with his highlight-reel goal in the Detroit Red Wings’ last game against the Calgary Flames, netting a brilliant tally to open the scoring in the Wings’ 3-2 victory.

“It’s something you work on after practice,” Sheahan said of his flashy tally. “I saw the opportunity that was there and I just tried to do it and it worked out, fortunately.

“You see some of the guys do it. I’m just trying to do different things on the ice, stuff you learn from Pav (Datsyuk) and Z (Henrik Zetterberg).”

As Detroit prepped for Saturday’s game at the Verizon Center against the Washington Capitals, Sheahan figured his main task will be puck distribution as he lines up alongside AHL goal-scoring leader Teemu Pulkkinen, who makes his season debut as a Wing.

“The way he plays you just have to get him the puck,” said Sheahan, who will skate between Pulkkinen and Drew Miller. “With me a Millsie, we like to distribute. He’s got a great shot so hopefully he can finish it off for us.”

That pulverizing shot has allowed Pulkkinen to net an AHL-best 20 goals so far this season.

“It’s amazing,” Sheahan said of Pulkkinen’s shot. “It’s almost like every time he shoots the puck it’s either going in or the goalie’s not going to know where it’s going and it’ll hit off him and create another scoring chance.

“It’s hard. It’s accurate. He gets it’s off pretty quick. Not many guys have a shot like him. The goals he’s scored, it’s a tough shot to stop.”

Detroit captain Zetterberg and defenseman Kyle Quincey skipped Saturday’s morning skate but both are good to do. The only lineup change sees Pulkkinen in for Daniel Cleary.

Jimmy Howard gets the start in goal.

Road Warriors
Although they are riding a two-game road winning streak, is there cause for concern developing when Detroit is away from home?

The Red Wings are 9-6-3 in 18 road games this season, apparently heading for their 14th winning mark away from Joe Louis Arena in the last 15 seasons, but are bumps in the road beginning to appear?

During their first nine road games, the Wings posted a 4-2-3 record collecting 11 points and outscoring their opponents in regulation play 26-19, a plus-seven goal differential.

In their last nine road games Detroit is 5-4-0, garnering 10 points, but has been outscored by opponents 28-21, a minus-seven goal differential.

Zetterberg thinks they’ve come out of their road funk during the last two wins at Edmonton and Calgary and believes the key to success is moving quickly out of the starting gate.

“I think we've been having good starts for all the last two games on the road trip so we want to keep doing the same,” Zetterberg said. “We played the way we wanted to. I think that's important.

“It's nice to see that we bounced back after the (4-1) Vancouver loss and won the last two games.”

Capital Thinking
The Red Wings might not have seen a lot of the Capitals over the years, since up until last season they were in the Western Conference, but they are well-schooled on the ways of Washington coach Barry Trotz, their foe for many years when he was behind the bench of the Nashville Predators.

“Washington, I think they've really gotten things together,” Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Barry Trotz, he does a lot of good things. We saw when he was in Nashville, he's a smart coach and he knows how to play the guys.

“It seems like they've got their stuff together. A real good team and obviously they've got some unbelievable players.”

What the Wings can’t allow to happen is for Washington’s high-end talent to operate with impunity.

“They have a lot of skilled players, a lot of big guys,” Sheahan said. “Their D is pretty strong. We have to focus when we have the puck to move our feet and not get pinned up against the boards and try and slow their skill players down.

Milestone Man
Zetterberg admitted that it was a special moment for him to net a goal against the Flames Wednesday as he became the 15th player to play 800 games in a Red Wings uniform.

“Obviously it's always nice to get goals nowadays,” Zetterberg said. “But obviously in that game it's a little more special.”

In case he wasn’t aware of his history-making moment, teammates ensured that Zetterberg was up to speed.

“(Drew) Miller made sure I knew before the game,” Zetterberg said. “He just said before the game, ‘Congratulations.’ So I knew before. I knew I was close.”

As to his role with the Wings, Zetterberg insists he tries to follow the example of those who wore the C before him, Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman.

“A good leader should be there for the guys, should lead by example on and off the ice,” Zetterberg said.

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