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Parity has gripped the NHL like a sleeper hold. So how have the Detroit Red Wings escaped?

They're not spending more than everyone else, as they did before the salary cap. They're still older than most teams. They're no longer led by coaching legend Scotty Bowman.

But as far as the record is concerned, the Red Wings are partying like it's 1996, when they set an NHL record with 62 wins.

Detroit stands in the top five in most statistical categories, but consider one number in particular: The Red Wings lead the NHL in shot differential at plus-12. The next closest team is the New York Rangers at plus-4.4.

Let that sink in for a moment. For most teams, getting 12 more shots than an opponent is domination. For the Red Wings, it's another day at the office.

You want to talk domination? How about a 39-11 shots on goal edge over San Jose? Maybe you'd prefer the 38-12 advantage against St. Louis in November. Or what about the 38-17 edge Detroit had last week against Carolina?

For the record, Carolina ranks second in shots on goal per game at 32.3, and San Jose ranks second in fewest shots against at 24.7 per game.

"They played a skating game," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said after losing 5-2 to Detroit. "They skated us down."

After a recent 5-0 loss to the Wings, Minnesota center Eric Belanger said, "We watched them play tonight," and Wild coach Jacques Lemaire added, "Our top players were not even close to their top players ... and not just to their top players."

Lemaire estimated the Wild had three to five scoring chances in that game.

That's the beauty of the Wings. They dominate you offensively and make your goalie play the game of his life. Oh, and while they're doing that, you won't be getting the puck enough to do anything offensively.

"They have a way of controlling play and controlling the puck," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said after his Oilers were able to squeeze a 4-3 shootout win out of Detroit despite being outshot 42-25.

It's reminiscent of Ken Hitchcock's coaching debut with the Stars in 1996, when he uttered the famous phrase: "Somebody needs to tell Detroit that we're supposed to get to play with the puck, too."

The funny thing is that since that time, Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov and Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov and Paul Coffey have moved on.

The Wings have seen a parade of Hall of Famers leave, including Brendan Shanahan, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull and Igor Larionov, and they have not changed a bit.

Bowman has retired, and now Mike Babcock is winning. Sure, Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios are still around. But two of the best players in the league are players the Red Wings selected late in drafts – Pavel Datsyuk (taken 171st in 1998) and Henrik Zetterberg (210th in 1999). On paper, Detroit shouldn't be this good.

"There's a good culture in our room," Babcock said, explaining a team game that is helped by a strong support group. "I think the bar is set here by Zetterberg and Datsyuk and Lidstrom. Those three skill guys I mentioned work so, so hard that they set the bar here and everybody else follows in."

Babcock said the Wings need that consistency against opponents that bring their A-game every night.

"If you think it's not tight for us each and every night, it is," he said.

Just not as tight as it is for everyone else in the league.