Stars dimming
DALLAS — Three games into the Western Conference finals, the fifth-seeded Dallas Stars sure look like overachievers who are just lucky to be here.
Not even being back home could help them.
Pavel Datsyuk got the first hat trick of his career and Henrik Zetterberg added two assists and a devastating short-handed goal, leading the Detroit Red Wings past the Stars 5-2 Monday night and to the brink of the Stanley Cup finals.
Detroit leads the series 3-0 going into Game 4 Wednesday night. As much as Dallas would like to win, just getting a lead would be nice. The Stars haven't even managed that in 180 minutes so far.
"Are they beatable? Yeah, but we have to play a lot better than we are," Dallas captain Brenden Morrow said. "We can't give Datsyuk point-blank chances, turning pucks over, not being strong in the corners and leaving (goaltender Marty Turco) out to dry. We're not going to get too many opportunities because they don't make a whole lot of mistakes."
That's an understatement.
The Red Wings won their ninth straight playoff game, the best streak in a single season in their franchise's proud history. It's also the longest in the NHL since Montreal won 11 in a row on its way to winning the Stanley Cup in 1993.
They've also done it without Johan Franzen playing the last two games because of concussion-like symptoms. All Franzen has done of late is score 27 goals in his last 27 games, including an NHL-best 12 this postseason.
"It shows we have a lot of depth," Zetterberg said. "We have four lines that really can play in all situations. The longer the game goes, the more advantage for us it is."
Franzen might have plenty of time to rest up. Detroit goes into Game 4 on Wednesday night with the chance to skate into the Cup finals for the fourth time in 11 seasons.
"There's a lot of experience in here," center Kris Draper said. "We're not getting caught up in the little things. We have a chance to eliminate a great hockey team. We have to get focused and be ready to play a great game Wednesday night."
