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Red Wings take lead in series with power-play goals
The Associated Press
DETROIT | Rolling, not rusty.
The Detroit Red Wings looked as sharp as they have throughout the playoffs, jumping out to a big lead and beating the Dallas Stars 4-1 Thursday in game one of the Western Conference finals.
Detroit played for the first time since sweeping Colorado a week earlier.
“They were scared, just like the coaches, that they wouldn’t be ready,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “A little fear never hurt anybody.”
Dallas, meanwhile, looked tired. The Stars advanced past San Jose in one of the longest games in NHL history — ending Monday in a fourth overtime — after playing three other OT games in the series.
Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski and Tomas Holmstrom scored power-play goals for Detroit, which led by four in the second period before coasting to its seventh win in a row.
After Valtteri Filppula put the top-seeded Red Wings ahead 4-0, Brenden Morrow scored with a minute left in the second period and prevented the fifth-seeded Stars from getting shut out.
“We had a good two or three shifts to start the game,” Morrow said. “But then the ice got tilted the other way.”
Game two is Saturday at Joe Louis Arena, where Stars goalie Marty Turco is 0-8-2.
•TIMONEN OUT: Flyers All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen will likely miss the Eastern Conference finals against the Penguins because of a blood clot in his left ankle.Timonen was hit by a shot by Montreal’s Andrei Markov late in game four of Philadelphia’s second-round victory.