The Wings have a chance to sweep the Western Conference Finals tonight in Dallas.

While I certainly expect the Stars to play their best game of the series, I wonder if they have any energy left in them to do so. Unless Osgood and the Wings have a poor game, I just don't see the Stars winning this game based on how they played in the first three games of the series. If they can play like they did against Anaheim or San Jose, it'll be a much closer and entertaining game.

Johan Franzen is still out with concussion-like symptoms, but has been allowed to start biking. The earliest he can start skating is Friday. He will not return to play until the headaches have subsided.

The game starts at 8pm. Go Wings!

The Detroit Red Wings take on the Dallas Stars tonight in Game #3 of the Western Conference Finals. It will be the first game in Dallas of the series and the home team is playing a must-win game.

The Wings got some bad news before Game #2 as playoff star Johan Franzen is out with concussion-like symptoms. He was getting a bunch of tests done earlier today in Detroit and would definitely miss tonight's game. It's unsure when he'll be able to return. Apparently, he had been experiencing headaches since the Colorado series and they finally got bad enough that he had to say something to the medical staff on Saturday. It's obviously a huge loss for Detroit.

The game will be on Versus at 8pm. Go Wings!

The Wings won tonight, 2-1, to earn a two game series lead before heading to Dallas on Sunday. Here are a few photos from the game and you can view others taken by my dad here.

Oh Cheli...

Look, he isn't even in the crease!

Stuart tries to tip a puck past Turco.

After a convincing 4-1 victory over the Stars on Thursday night, the Wings hope to extend their series lead tonight at 7pm in Game #2 of the Western Conference Finals.

On Thursday, head coach Mike Babcock decided to pull Darren McCarty in favor of a quicker Kirk Maltby because he felt Maltby would be a better fit against the Stars roster. Otherwise, no line up changes have been made and so far (knock on wood) everyone is healthy outside of the typical playoff bumps and bruises.

Go Wings!

At 7:30pm tonight, the Western Conference Finals begin between the top seeded Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. It should be a tough series, six or seven games in length, featuring strong goaltending [Osgood, Turco], defense [Lidstrom, Zubov], and offense [Modano/Ribeiro/Richards/Morrow, Franzen/Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Cleary].

The game will be shown on Versus. Go Wings!

The Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Dallas Stars on Thursday to start the Western Conference Finals. The full series schedule is shown below:

Thurs., May 8, 2008 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Sat., May 10, 2008 7:00 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Mon., May 12, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Wed., May 14, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, TSN, RDS
*Sat., May 17, 2008 1:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit NBC, CBC, RDS
*Mon., May 19, 2008 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Wed., May 21, 2008 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Detroit is now up 3-0 over the Avs in the second round of the playoffs after a 4-3 victory in Game #3. Last night's game was more of what we had seen in the previous two games plus the referees tried to make things interesting (more like frustrating). There were some crap calls on both teams including some missed calls for both sides as well.

The injury bug has only worsened for Colorado as Paul Stastny suffered a knee injury during the game and will miss Game #4. Peter Forsberg returned to Game #3 after a visit to the locker room, and it's unknown if he'll play tomorrow.

The last time a team came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series was the 1975 NY Islanders. I don't see the Avs battling the injury bug (and a healthy Detroit team) to come back and win the series. But will Colorado find a way to win Game #4? It's certainly going to be tough.

Interesting note from Ansar Khan @ MLive.com:

A Wings Stanley Cup run wouldn't be complete without dispatching Joel Quenneville along the way. The Wings defeated a Quenneville-coached Blues team in 1997, '98 and 2002 on the way to the title.

If the Wings win and if Dallas can close out their series against San Jose, Detroit would face Nashville, Colorado, and Dallas in the Western Conference portion of the playoffs. That's not too bad in terms of travel compared to last year with Calgary, San Jose, and Anaheim.

The hits just keep on coming for Colorado. Apparently Ryan Smyth blocked a shot in Game #2 and suffered a foot injury. It doesn't look like he will be able to play. Peter Forsberg is questionable for the game. I would think that he would have to suck it up and play, but I guess we'll have to wait and find out. Defenseman Scott Hannan is probabl3 for tonight after missing Game #2, but he was seen hobbling around the arena after practice.

It sounds like Kirk Maltby has healed up for the most part from his hamstring injury he suffered before the start of the playoffs. With the success of the current line-up, it appears head coach Mike Babcock will stick with Darren Helm for at least one more game.

The game starts at 10pm EST on FSN Detroit, possibly FSN's last game of the season. Go Wings!

Yesterday evening, the Detroit Red Wings won the game in a dominating fashion, 5-1.

Johan Franzen notched Detroit's first playoff hat trick since Darren McCarty's on May 18, 2002 (also a win over Colorado). Between his big body and high level of skill, Franzen has become quite the force this season with 22 goals in his last 25 games (including regular season). He has seven goals this postseason.

"I think he's learned how to use his body down the boards and in front of the net," goaltender Chris Osgood said. "He uses that to his advantage to drive pucks to the net and getting to the goal area and screening the goalie. He's got a real great shot -- he used to not shoot as much, so now he's starting to shoot. I think he's just learning how to play and use his body in a positive manner."

Johan Franzen scores his third goal of the game.

With just under half a game remaining of play, Henrik Zetterberg scored Detroit's fourth goal of the game. That's when Colorado really fell apart taking six penalties in the next six minutes of play. In fact, Colorado had seven penalties in the second period, one more than the number of shots in the same period. While I didn't mind seeing Colorado lose it because it showed the Wings were getting to them and frustrating them with their play, I was worried that one of the Avs players may act out and hurt a Wings player. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

We even got to see a Wings-Avs fight with Darren McCarty.

Now I am definitely not ruling out the Avs by any means. If Forsberg can come back for Game #3 on Tuesday and not look like the groin injury is restricting his play too much and if Colorado starts Budaj, it'll be a different Avs team in front of their home crowd. We saw in the first round against Nashville and then last year against Calgary, a 2-0 series lead is only halfway there. The Wings need to pounce in the first period of Game #3 to grab a stranglehold on this series.

For the rest of the photos my dad took at the Wings game, please click here.

Go Wings!

After a 4-3 victory over the Avs on Thursday night, the Wings hope to take a 2-0 series lead Saturday afternoon in Detroit.

You can view photos taken by my dad at Game #1 here.

Ryan Smyth gets in Nicklas Lidstrom's face.

Peter Forsberg is not expected to play tomorrow. He did not play in Game #1 after pulling his groin in the morning skate, which is obviously a huge disappointment for Avs fans. Wojtek Wolski is also out for the game with an upper body injury he suffered in Game #1. He is not expected to return this series.

On Detroit's side, Kirk Maltby is the only player out with an injury and it is unknown if he will play. I wouldn't count on it though especially when his fill in, Darren Helm, has been playing so great lately. Chris Osgood will remain in goal. Brad Stuart will also be back in the line up. He missed Game #1 to see the birth of his kid in LA.

The Wings game will be shown on NBC at 3pm. Go Wings!

Thursday night at 7:30pm, the Wings-Avs second round series will begin at Joe Louis Arena. In what should be a very tight and tough series, these two old rivals will probably go to six or seven games to determine the winner.

Kirk Maltby still won't be on the roster for game one and possibly game two due to a hamstring injury he suffered before the start of the playoffs. Darren Helm will be in the lineup in his place.

Chris Osgood will be the starter in net. He will continue to do so as long as the team is winning or as long as he is playing well (and not the reason for the loss).

I think this is going to be a really tough series and I'm definitely worried about the outcome! I still think the Wings will take it, but it'll take six or seven games to do so. Go Wings!!

In a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings head into the second round against either the Calgary Flames or Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs defeated the Minnesota Wild in a 4-2 series while the Flames are battling it out with San Jose as I type this. If the Flames come back from a 5-2 deficit to win Game #7, Detroit will play Calgary in the second round. However if San Jose keeps their lead, Detroit will see Colorado.

What is my preference? I don't really have one. While Calgary may be the "easier" team of the two, the travel is worse with Calgary. Colorado seems to be a completely different team than one we saw earlier this year - healthy, Forsberg & Foote additions, as well as Jose Theodore playing totally improved from earlier this season. Either way, round two is going to be tough.

If Detroit plays Colorado, games one and two will be this Thursday and Saturday in Detroit. If Detroit plays Calgary, games one and two will be this Friday and Sunday.

Go Wings!