The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals tonight, when they visit the Dallas Stars for Game 3 at American Airlines Center.
Detroit has grabbed a two games to none lead in this series after posting wins in Games 1 and 2 on its home ice. The Red Wings recorded a 4-1 decision in the opener last Thursday and followed with a 2-1 triumph on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings have won eight straight games since head coach Mike Babcock made a goaltending switch and replaced Dominik Hasek with Chris Osgood. Detroit was tied with Nashville 2-2 in the opening round series, but won two straight to win that set and then swept Colorado in four games during the conference semifinals.
In Game 2 against Dallas, Chris Osgood needed to make just 17 saves to help the Red Wings earn the 2-1 decision over the Stars. Osgood is 8-0 with a 1.40 goals against average and .939 save percentage in this postseason.
Darren Helm and Henrik Zetterberg each scored a goal for the Red Wings, who are a perfect 7-0 on their home ice in the postseason.
Detroit was without forward Johan Franzen, the leading goal-scorer of the playoffs with 12, who was scratched from the lineup because of concussion- like symptoms. Franzen, who has 27 goals in 27 games dating back to the regular season, is also expected to miss tonight's contest.
Stephane Robidas scored the lone goal while Marty Turco stopped 32 shots in the loss for the Stars.
In addition to losing the game on Saturday, Dallas also saw two-way forward Jere Lehtinen leave due to a leg injury in the second period. Lehtinen, a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's top defensive forward, is questionable for tonight's test.
Mike Ribeiro, Dallas' leading scorer in the regular season and the playoffs, was involved in a controversial altercation with Osgood late in the third period of Game 2. After Osgood appeared to hit Ribeiro in the face with the butt-end off his stick, the Stars forward then took a two-handed swing from behind the net and hit the goaltender in the chest with his stick. Ribeiro was given a 10-minute game misconduct for the slash.
After much speculation, Ribeiro was not suspended, but rather both he an Osgood were fined an undisclosed amount by the NHL. Ribeiro is leading Dallas with 15 points (3 goals, 12 assists) in the playoffs after posting a team-high 83 points during the regular season.
The Red Wings are in the conference finals for a second straight year. Detroit lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim in six, hard-fought games last season.
The Stars are in the conference finals for the first time since 2000. Dallas ousted Anaheim in six games in the first round and raced out to a 3-0 series lead against San Jose in the conference semifinals before moving on with a 2-1 victory in the fourth overtime of Game 6. Dallas is just 1-4 since taking a 3-0 lead on the Sharks in the second round.
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 in the four tests.
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 Stars had a solid 23-16-2 record as the home club this season, while the Red Wings were terrific on the road with a 25-12-4 mark.
Game 4 of this series is scheduled for Wednesday night in Dallas.
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