Wings over Dallas
DALLAS — Even with blood caked on his red beard and his lower lip badly swollen, Kris Draper was still smiling.
Taking a puck to the face to get back into the Stanley Cup finals? No problem.
"It went off my chin. It went in. Who cares?" Draper said. "It's all worth it right now at this time of year."
Draper and Detroit will again play for hockey's biggest prize after eliminating the history-chasing Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals Monday night. The Red Wings will be making their 23rd Stanley Cup finals appearance, and first since winning it in 2002.
With Dallas trying to become only the third team to come back from losing the first three games to win a series, the Red Wings had an emphatic response following consecutive losses that made them suddenly seem vulnerable. The goal off Draper's face, 3:45 into the game, was the first of three Detroit scored in the opening period.
"We were relentless," Draper said. "It was just a solid first period and obviously the difference in the hockey game. ... We're back in the Stanley Cup and it sounds great for us."
Hockeytown hosts Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night. The Red Wings face the youthful Pittsburgh Penguins in a matchup of teams that didn't play in the regular season.
"I've watched them on TV," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "For two to be remaining, they must be very good. Their transition is fantastic. They have a bunch of kids that can really skate."
So can those grizzled Red Wings.
After being limited to single goals in Games 4 and 5, they built a three-goal lead by the first intermission before adding to the advantage while short-handed. The Stars were on a power play 3 minutes into the second period when Henrik Zetterberg stole a puck and turned it into an unassisted goal by slapping the shot past Marty Turco for his 11th of the playoffs.
"It was a combination of us hoping to win and Detroit pushing the issue to win. I think they had a real hard focus around our net early," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "The first three goals, right at the crease and in. That's where we were, chasing the game."
Never to catch up and force a Game 7.
Dallas Drake, a 16-season veteran who is finally going to his first Stanley Cup finals, passed the puck that went off Draper's chin. Then after Pavel Datsyuk's power-play goal, when he flicked the puck over a sprawled out Turco, Drake scored his first goal of the playoffs to make it 3-0.
"I've never even gotten close to having an opportunity," Drake said. "I couldn't be more thankful right now than I am."
Drake was drafted by the Red Wings in 1989 and played his first two seasons in Detroit (1992-94). He returned as a free agent last summer and finally has the chance to play for the ultimate prize.
While the end was ugly, the Stars got a standing, towel-twirling ovation from the fans in recognition of their best postseason since 2000, when they were defending Cup champions and made it back to the conference finals. Dallas dethroned reigning champion Anaheim, then ousted San Jose in the second round, finishing it with a four-overtime thriller.
"We came a long way this year, but this wasn't our ultimate goal," said captain Brenden Morrow, who was doubled over on the ice at game's end. "We did make some progress. We put a lot of work into this and want to do it again. This will make us hungrier."
