Sat May 17 11:03:07 2008

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Red Wings host Stars, aim to clinch West finals

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(Sports Network) - The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will again try to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup finals, as they host the Dallas Stars this afternoon at Joe Louis Arena in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

The Red Wings, winner of the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best team in the regular season, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series, but the Stars staved off elimination with a win in Wednesday's Game 4 meeting in Dallas.

The setback snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Red Wings in this year's playoffs, a stretch that set a franchise record for most consecutive victories in a single postseason. It was Detroit's first loss since dropping a 3-2 decision in Game 4 of its opening-round series against Nashville.

However, the Red Wings are still 7-0 as the host in the 2008 playoffs and haven't dropped a test in the Motor City since losing to St. Louis on March 28. Detroit was the best home team in the NHL during the regular season, posting a superb 29-9-3 record at the Joe.

Dallas was 22-14-5 as the visiting team this year and is 5-4 on the road in the postseason.

If necessary, the teams will return to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night.

The Stars are trying to become just the third team in NHL history to erase an 0-3 deficit to win a seven-game series. The New York Islanders did it last in 1975 when they beat Pittsburgh, while the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs achieved the same feat against Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals.

Dallas thwarted the Red Wings in their first attempt at clinching the series with a victory at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday. Mike Modano's third-period power-play goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Stars posted a 3-1 decision over Detroit.

Loui Eriksson and Brenden Morrow also scored for the Stars, who trail the series, 3-1. Sergei Zubov collected two assists, while Marty Turco stopped 33- of-34 shots to earn the win.

Henrik Zetterberg lit the lamp for the Red Wings. Chris Osgood allowed three goals on 22 shots to record his first loss in this postseason.

Detroit dominated the middle stanza territorially and had a power-play goal disallowed near the midway point of the frame because the official determined that Tomas Holmstrom interfered with Turco. The replay clearly showed Holmstrom was not in the crease.

The Red Wings were again without forward Johan Franzen, the leading goal- scorer of the playoffs with 12 tallies, who missed his third straight game because of concussion-like symptoms. Franzen, who has 27 goals in 27 games dating back to the regular season, is also expected to miss this afternoon's contest.

Dallas beat Anaheim in six games in the opening round, but is just 2-5 since taking a three games to none lead in the conference semifinals against San Jose.

The Stars, who are already without centerman Stu Barnes (concussion) and defenseman Philippe Boucher (hip), have missed the two-way play of forward Jere Lehtinen in Games 3 and 4. Lehtinen, a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's top defensive forward, suffered a leg injury in Game 2 and is out for today's test as well.

The Red Wings are in the conference finals for a second straight year. Detroit lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim in six, hard-fought games last season.

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.

The Red Wings won three of the four regular-season meetings with Dallas this season. The Stars found goals hard to come by in those contests, as they managed to score just five times in the four tests.

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.