<div align="center"></div> <div align="center"> Vs. </div> <div align="center"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>DETROIT RED WINGS Team Page | Roster | Stats Regular Season Record: 54-21-7, 115 pts Head-to-Head Record: 3-1 Last Stanley Cup Win: 2002 Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 2002 Last Postseason Appearance: 2007 Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Darren McCarty (3) , Kirk Maltby (3), Kris Draper (3), Tomas Holmstrom (3), Nicklas Lidstrom (3), Chris Chelios (2), Chris Osgood (2), Brian Rafalski (2), Dominik Hasek, Pavel Datsyuk How they got here: Forward Johan Franzen led the charge for the Red Wings in the second round against the Avalanche with a stunning scoring performance. The 28-year-old Swede potted nine goals in the four-game sweep, beating Hall of Famer Gordie Howe's franchise record of eight goals in one series (seven games) in 1949. Franzen outscored Colorado all by himself in Game 4 with his second hat trick in three games, fuelling a rout that completed the sweep of the injury-riddled Avs. The Wings had more trouble in the first round, struggling with Nashville before Chris Osgood came off the bench to replace Dominik Hasek and helped to settle things down. Osgood and Detroit went on to defeat the Predators in six games. Osgood finished the second round with a perfect 6-0 postseason record. 2nd Round Series Pages: Red Wings vs. Avalanche 1st Round Series Pages: Red Wings vs. Predators What They Bring To The Table: The Red Wings were once again the class of the Western Conference, sporting their third straight 50-plus win season. Included in that total were four wins in as many tries against Colorado - three by shutout. But there were some stretches when the team didn't look as good as advertised. They went through an awful run in February where they lost 10 of 11 games and had to cope with injuries to key players like Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cleary and Niklas Kronwall. Nevertheless, the team still has a lethal one-two punch in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg while defenceman Brian Rafalski set career highs in goals and points. Where depth is concerned, the team is well balanced with the reliable shutdown duo of Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, along with forwards Jiri Hudler, Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson. Defence is also a very strong suit, with Lidstrom, Kronwall and Rafalski joined by Brad Stuart and veteran Chris Chelios. Coach Mike Babcock has said all season that The Dominator is the man, but Osgood has taken over the top spot for the postseason. DALLAS STARS Team Page | Roster | Stats Regular Season Record: 45-30-7, 97 pts Head-to-Head Record: 1-3 Last Stanley Cup Win: 1999 Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 2000 Last Postseason Appearance: 2007 Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, Sergei Zubov, Brad Richards How they got here: The Stars are in the Western Conference final for the first time since 2000, and they had to work a lot of overtime in their second round victory over San Jose to get there. Four of the six games against the Sharks went to overtime, with Dallas winning three of them - including a four-overtime classic in the series finale. Brenden Morrow scored the series clincher - his team-leading seventh of the postseason, while Marty Turco continued to shine in the Dallas net. In the first round, the Stars upended the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in six games, and did so with surprising ease. They outscored the Ducks 16-4 in their four victories and scored 10 powerplay goals in the series. 2nd Round Series Pages: Stars vs. Sharks 1st Round Series Pages: Stars vs. Ducks What They Bring To The Table: The Stars struggled early in the season, prompting the arrival of Brett Hull and Les Jackson as general manager. It was a breath of fresh air in Dallas, with several players stepping up their game. Mike Ribeiro hit the comfort zone with the Stars, building some good chemistry with captain Brenden Morrow and leading the team in scoring. He was rewarded with a new five-year contract and will be counted on to continue his productivity in the postseason. The arrival of Brad Richards raised plenty of optimism, especially after a five-point game in his first outing with the Stars. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner was relatively quiet since that performance, and there's pressure on the Stars' highest paid player (at $7.8 million) to bring back that 2004 playoff magic. The blueline has been hurt with injuries to Sergei Zubov and Phillipe Boucher, but should be much more stable should they return with a clean bill of health. In goal, Marty Turco stepped up his postseason play last spring and will need another good run, namely towards a Cup. The Stars are on track on all counts. Statistical keys to the series - Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 3.80 goals per game. Dallas ranks fifth with 2.92 goals per game. - Dallas ranks second in the playoffs with 2.00 goals against per game. Detroit ranks third with 2.10 goals against per game. - Dallas ranks second in the playoffs with a 25.0% success rate. Detroit ranks ninth at 20.4%. - Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 39.3 shots on goal per game. Dallas ranks eighth with 30.0 shots on goal per game. - Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 24.9 shots against per game. Dallas ranks third with 27.0 shots against per game. - Detroit's Johan Franzen leads the playoffs with 11 goals. - Dallas' Mike Ribeiro ranks second in the playoffs with 11 assists. - Detroit's Johan Franzen and Dallas' Mike Ribeiro are tied for second in the playoffs with 14 points. - Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen rank first and second in the playoffs at plus-10 and plus-9, respectively. - Dallas' Brendan Morrow and Stephane Robidas rank first and second in the playoffs with 66 hits and 59 hits, respectively. - Dallas' Mike Ribeiro ranks second in the playoffs with 16 takeaways. - Detroit's Kris Draper leads the playoffs (min. 50 face-offs) with a 62.4% face-off winning percentage. - Detroit's leaders in playoff power play ice time (per game): Nicklas Lidstrom 4:36 Brian Rafalski 4:21 Pavel Datsyuk 4:16 Henrik Zetterberg 4:15 Tomas Holmstrom 4:06 Johan Franzen 3:06 - Dallas' leaders in playoff power play ice time (per game): Stephane Robias 5:10 Mike Ribeiro 4:45 Brenden Morrow 4:31 Jere Lehtinen 4:19 Mike Modano 3:42 Sergei Zubov 3:12 - Detroit's leaders in playoff penalty killing ice time (per game): Nicklas Lidstrom 3:13 Chris Chelios 2:28 Brad Stuart 2:23 Kris Draper 2:22 Niklas Kronwall 2:07 Daniel Cleary 2:02 - Dallas' leaders in playoff penalty killing ice time (per game): Jere Lehtinen 2:35 Steve Ott 2:33 Stephane Robidas 2:31 Mark Fistric 2:31 Mike Modano 2:23 Trevor Daley 2:15</div></div>
The wings are on a roll and i dont see Dallas or Pittsburgh slowing them down too much. Ozzy needs to step it up a little and just be solid, along with the wings defense. Datsyuk, Zetterburg, and Franzen have been tearing it up, no problems at all on offense. 8-4 for the remainder of the playoffs.... WARM UP THE CUP
