Franzen's late rally gives Red Wings first win

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Johan Franzen scored two third-period goals to give defending champions the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and a first win of the season.

Franzen tied the score 11:16 into the third period, then delivered the game-winner with 1:17 to play when his shot trickled into the net past Senators goalie Martin Gerber.

"It was a lucky one," Franzen told reporters "It got deflected off the defenseman's stick. I was shooting for the first (near) post and it got deflected to the other post. That was a tough play for him (Gerber)."

Detroit (1-1-0), who dropped their opener to Toronto on Thursday, never led until Franzen's winner.

"Hopefully, I will carry this with me and get the confidence back," said Franzen, who did not score in Thursday's season-opening loss by the 2008 Stanley Cup champions.

Ottawa grabbed a 1-0 advantage on Alexandre Picard's power-play goal 6:22 into the first period and went ahead 2-1 on Nick Foligno's unassisted goal late in the second.

Valtteri Filppula provided Detroit's other goal 11:01 into the first.

Red Wings netminder Chris Osgood stopped 20 shots for the victory as his team peppered his counterpart Gerber with 41 shots, 38 of which he saved.

However, he could not stop Franzen's winner.

"I didn't really get a break there," Gerber said. "It looked like an easy shot. It came in the middle, and then hit and came bouncing twice and just at the last bounce came up and over my stick."

Senators coach Craig Hartsburg praised Gerber's overall play.

"For 59 minutes he was the guy who kept us in," he said.

"If he doesn't play the way he did, at that point it probably doesn't matter."

The meeting with the Red Wings was the Senators' home opener after splitting games with Pittsburgh in Stockholm.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Martin Petty)