Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Detroit vs. Dallas

Posted: Tue May 6 2:48 PM

By Dan Di Sciullo, NHL Editor

DETROIT RED WINGS (1st seed, West)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 54-21-7

2008 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Nashville 4-2 in conference quarterfinals; defeated Colorado 4-0 in conference semifinals

(Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings are in the conference finals for the second straight year. So much for the theory that the Red Wings have too many old players to go deep in the postseason.

In "Hockeytown", however, success is gauged by Stanley Cup championships and anything short of that goal is a disappointment. After all, Detroit has won 10 Stanley Cup titles in its history, more than any other American franchise.

The Red Wings are now one step away from reaching the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since winning their last world title in 2002.

Through two rounds of this year's postseason the story for the Red Wings has been centerman Johan Franzen, who leads all NHL players with 11 goals. Franzen posted two hat tricks in the conference semifinals sweep of Colorado and his 14 points (11 goals, 3 assists) leads all Detroit players this postseason.

The 28-year-old Swedish centerman has 26 goals in his last 26 games dating back to the regular season.

Franzen's prolific offensive output has been huge for Detroit, which in recent years was forced to get most of its scoring from the top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom.

The first unit has not disappointed so far in the playoffs, especially Zetterberg and Datsyuk, who each have notched 13 points in 10 games. Zetterberg, the centerman, has seven goals and six assists, while left wing Datsyuk has notched five goals and eight helpers.

Datsyuk was Detroit's leading scorer during the regular season with 97 points (31g, 66a). Zetterberg paced the club with 43 goals and also finished with 92 points.

Holmstrom's output has been somewhat disappointing, as he's recorded just two goals and four assists so far. He had 20 goals and 20 assists in 59 games during the regular season.

Detroit's calming influence is Nicklas Lidstrom, the club's captain and arguably the best defensemen of his generation. The Swedish superstar has won five Norris Trophies as the league's top blueliner and is again a finalist for the award.

Lidstrom led all defensemen with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists) during the regular season and has two goals and five assists in 10 playoff games this year.

Another big piece to the Detroit puzzle this postseason has been the goaltending of Chris Osgood, who actually started the playoffs as the backup to Dominik Hasek. After Hasek went 2-2 in the first four games of the opening- round set against Nashville, head coach Mike Babcock switched to Osgood and it has made all the difference.

The Red Wings have won every game with Osgood in goal this postseason, as the 35-year-old is 6-0 with a 1.52 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. Osgood helped Detroit win a Stanley Cup title as the team's starting goaltender in the 1998 postseason.

In addition to Lidstrom, the Red Wings also have Niklas Kronwall, Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart and Chris Chelios on the blueline, giving Detroit one of the deepest and most experienced defensive corps in hockey.

Kronwall has had an excellent postseason so far, as he leads all Red Wings defensemen in points with eight assists. The Swede is also adept at delivering hits, giving Detroit a much-needed physical presence at the back end.

Rafalski has one goal and six assists so far in these playoffs and with a plus-seven rating is tied with Lidstrom for the best plus/minus on Detroit's blueline.

The 46-year-old Chelios is a future Hall-of-Famer, but doesn't get nearly as much as time as he once did. However, the three-time Norris Trophy winner is a plus-two in nine games this postseason. Chelios has played in 255 career postseason games and has won two Stanley Cup titles, included one with Detroit in 2002.

Stuart has also been solid in the playoffs and, along with Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Kronwall, is one of four Red Wings defensemen to average over 20 minutes of ice time per game in this postseason.

Detroit's power play struggled in the opening round against Nashville, but the Red Wings rebound against Colorado, scoring on 7-of-23 opportunities with the man advantage against the Avalanche. The Red Wings have scored on 20.4-percent (10-of-49) power plays in this postseason.

DALLAS STARS (5th seed, West)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 45-30-7

2008 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Anaheim 4-2 in conference quarterfinals; defeated San Jose 4-2 in conference semifinals

(Sports Network) - The Dallas Stars knocked off two of the leading contenders in the West to reach the conference finals. They'll have to slay another giant to get to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Stars were huge underdogs against last year's Cup champions Anaheim in the opening round, but Dallas downed the Ducks in six games. San Jose was also favored against Dallas in the conference semifinals, but the Stars ousted the Sharks in six, despite nearly blowing a 3-0 series lead.

Dallas will have three days off between it's series-clinching win against San Jose and Game 1 of this set against Detroit. That's a good thing considering the Stars went three full overtime periods in Game 6 against San Jose before finally ending the series in quadruple OT.

It's not surprising that Marty Turco was the hero in the marathon game against San Jose because Dallas' goaltender has been the best player for the Stars so far in this postseason. Turco stopped 61-of-62 shots in Game 6 and is 8-4 with a 1.73 GAA and .929 save percentage in the playoffs.

The 32-year-old Turco was once considered to be a liability in the playoffs, but has quieted that talk with back-to-back superb performances in the postseason. Last year, the Stars were ousted in the first round in a seven- game series against Vancouver, but Turco was the best player for Dallas in that set as he tied an NHL record with three shutouts in one playoff round.

Dallas' first line of centerman Mike Ribeiro and wingers Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen has been very productive in this year's postseason, combining for 14 goals and 33 points so far.

Ribeiro is leading the club with 14 points (3g, 11a), while Morrow, the Stars captain, has a team-high seven goals and 11 total points. Two of Morrow's tallies came in overtime games against San Jose and the left wing also put his stamp on that series with some earth-shattering hits.

Lehtinen, a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's best defensive forward, has four goals and four assists in 12 games.

A key addition to Dallas' playoff run was acquired at the trade deadline when centerman Brad Richards came over in a deal with Tampa Bay. Richards didn't exactly have a huge impact during his 12 regular season games with Dallas this year, but has been consistent in the playoffs, posting two goals and nine assists.

The 28-year-old forward has 58 points (20g, 38a) in 57 career playoff games and was the Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoffs during the Lightning's Cup championship year of 2004.

Of course, the Stars still have one of the best American players of all-time at their disposal in centerman Mike Modano. The 37-year-old is not quite the scoring threat he once was, but has been productive this postseason with four goals and six assists.

Modano has registered 143 points (57g, 86a) in 168 career playoff tilts.

The Stars have been without veteran forward Stu Barnes since he developed concussion-like symptoms after colliding with San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo in Game 3. Barnes, who has two goals and an assist in nine playoff games this year, has yet to skate with the team since the injury and his status for the upcoming series in uncertain.

Dallas has a solid mix of veteran and young defensemen that has been led by 31-year-old Stephane Robidas this postseason. Robidas has one goal and seven assists and is averaging over 27 minutes of ice time per game.

Sergei Zubov had been out of the lineup since late January, but returned for Game 2 of the San Jose series. The 37-year-old Russian contributed with one goal and three assists in five tests against the Sharks. Zubov has 115 points (24g, 91a) in 158 career playoff games.

Mattias Norstrom, 36, leads Dallas with a plus-four rating in the playoffs and also had two goals and three assists. Nicklas Grossman, a 23-year-old rookie, has just one assist in 12 games, but is also sporting a solid plus-three rating.

Dallas has been excellent on the power play in the 2008 postseason, scoring on 25-percent (15-of-60) of its opportunities with the man advantage.

The Stars are in the conference finals for the first time since 2000, when they eventually lost to New Jersey in the final round. Dallas won its lone Stanley Cup championship in 1999.

MATCHUP

This series is somewhat of a throwback to the late 1990s when both the Red Wings and Stars were perennial Cup contenders.

Although many of the faces have changed there are also players like Lidstrom, Osgood, Chelios, Modano and Zubov, who are still active and playing for the same club. That type of history should make for an interesting series.

The Red Wings won three of the four regular-season meetings with Dallas this season. The Stars found goals hard to come by in those contests, as they managed to score just five times.

Turco has struggled mightily in his career against Detroit, going just 2-10-5 against the Red Wings with a 2.88 GAA and .897 save percentage.

Detroit has won all three of its postseason meetings with the Stars franchise. The teams last met in the 1998 conference finals when the Red Wings beat Dallas in six games en route to their second straight Stanley Cup crown.

The Red Wings' toughness has been criticized in the past, but there is no questioning the club's high skill level. With the defensemen and forwards dictating the pace in front of Osgood, the Stars will likely need a dominating performance by Turco to get into the Cup finals.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Red Wings in 6