Red Wings use power play to get past Stars in Game 1

Hockey Betting Lines

05/08/2008 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Holmstrom posted a goal and an assist, as the Detroit Red Wings downed the Dallas Stars, 4-1, in Game 1 of their Western Conference finals series from Joe Louis Arena.

Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the top- seeded Red Wings, who will host Game 2 on Saturday night. Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall both had two assists, while Chris Osgood ran his playoff record to 7-0 by stopping 20-of-21 shots.

Detroit eliminated Nashville in six games during the opening round and then swept an injury-riddled Colorado squad in the conference semifinals to reach the conference finals for a second straight year. The Red Wings lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim in six, hard-fought games last season.

Brenden Morrow lit the lamp for the fifth-seeded Stars, while Marty Turco was victimized for four goals on 31 shots.

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.

Detroit opened the scoring in the series with a power-play goal at the 4:28 mark of the first period. A scuffle in front of Turco resulted in rookie defenseman Mark Fistric being sent off for roughing, giving the Red Wings a two-man advantage. Detroit needed only nine seconds to connect, as Lidstrom's slap shot from the top of the left circle rang off the far post and came out to the high slot, where Rafalski gathered the puck and snapped it past a screened Turco.

The red-hot Franzen continued where he left off in the second round, notching his league-leading 12th goal of the playoffs with 4:26 to play before the first intermission. The 28-year-old Swedish centerman scored nine goals against the Avalanche, including a pair of hat tricks.

With the Red Wings skating a man up, Franzen parked himself in front of Turco and redirected Kronwall's blast between the pads of the Dallas netminder to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.

Detroit cashed in on the power play again at the 6:40 mark of the middle stanza. Henrik Zetterberg held the puck in at the blue line and dished to Lidstrom, whose shot from the left circle deflected off Holmstrom and in behind Turco.

Filppula netted the first even-strength goal of the series with 4:23 remaining in the second, beating Turco on the stick side.

A turnover in the defensive zone by Detroit led to Morrow putting the Stars on the board. Filppula couldn't handle Kronwall's pass and the puck went right to the stick of Steve Ott, who quickly fired the puck on net. Osgood made the initial save, but Morrow managed to bang home the rebound with 1:07 to go in the frame.

Game Notes

Detroit won three of the four regular-season meetings, outscoring the Stars 12-5...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...Franzen extended his goal-scoring streak to five games, tying a Red Wings playoff record (Gordie Howe in 1949 and 1964; Ted Lindsay in 1952)...Detroit finished 3-for-7 on the power play, while the Stars went 0- for-4.