Red Wings Flying High

Once upon a time, the Red Wings lost 1-0 to the Stars… that was way back on Feb 17^th and it was also the Wings sixth consecutive loss – their longest losing streak since 1991.  Once upon a time, back on January 5^th, the Stars lost 3-0 to the Wings for their fourth consecutive loss – their longest losing streak since December 2003.

It was March 13^th though, that the Wings will remember most.  On this day, with a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars the Wings clinched the Central Division crown for a seventh consecutive season and secured their 17^th trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As for the post-season experiences, the last time these two teams went head-to-head happened back in 1998.

The Wings won the series 4-2, winning the Western Conference Finals. 

Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen remain from that Stars team: Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Chris Osgood are still with the Red Wings.

Detroit’s Chris Osgood and Dallas’ Marty Turco rank first and second, respectively in goals-against-average and their save percentages are the third and fourth best in the playoffs.

Both teams are pretty healthy heading into the Conference Finals, though the Stars Philippe Boucher (hip) and Stu Barnes (concussion) are doubtful for the opening game.  The Wings’ Chris Chelios (lower body) and Valtteri Filppula (leg) remain game-time decisions.

Truly Presidential: Including this season, the Red Wings have won the Presidents’ Trophy six times since it was presented by the Board of Governors to the National Hockey League in 1985-86 to honor the team that finished the regular season with the League’s best record. No other team has won it more than twice.

In The Long Run: This is Detroit's 17th consecutive season in the playoffs – the longest such streak in pro sports. The New York Yankees are second with 13 in a row. This also is the Red Wings' eighth consecutive season of 100 points or more, matching the record the Montreal Canadiens set from 1974-75 to 1981-82.

Last Team To Win The Presidents’ Trophy And The Stanley Cup In The Same Year: The Red Wings, in 2002.

Os-so-good:  Chris Osgood took over midway through Game 4 of the opening-round conquest of Nashville, stopped 53 of 54 shots he faced, and ran his 2008 playoff record to 6-0 in the sweep of Colorado. With 44 playoff victories, Osgood is within three of matching the Red Wings record for goaltenders held by Terry Sawchuk.

Patience is a virtue: Three of the most important Red Wings were extremely late draft picks -  Tomas Holmstrom was #257 in 1994, Pavel Datsyuk was #171 in 1998 and Henrik Zetterberg was #210 in 1999.

Patience is a virtue doubled: Compared to Holmstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, who has scored 11 goals to set a Red Wings record for one playoff season, was an "early" pick -  #97 overall in 2004. (Brett Hull, who now shares the Dallas GM duties with Les Jackson, earned a share of the previous Red Wings playoff goal record with 10 in 2002. Hull collected his total across 23 games; Franzen scored his in 10 games).

Young At Heart: In Game 2 of the Conference Quarter-Final against Nashville,  Chris Chelios set the record for most Stanley Cup Playoff games with his 248th, surpassing the record set by G Patrick Roy. Chelios also has extended his own Stanley Cup record by appearing in his 23rd career playoff season.

Chelios, who turned 46 on Jan. 25, passed the late Moe Roberts (45 years, 347 days) to become the oldest U.S.-born player in NHL history and the second-oldest NHL player ever, surpassed only by Gordie Howe (52 years, 6 days). Roberts, a goaltender, made his last NHL appearance was for Chicago against the Red Wings on Nov. 25, 1951; by then he was assistant trainer for the Blackhawks but was pressed back into service (17 seasons after his previous NHL appearance) when Chicago's starting goaltender, Harry Lumley, was injured.

Chelios is older than three of the remaining coaches in the 2008 playoffs, including Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. He also predates Pittsburgh's Michel Therrien and Philadelphia's John Stevens... Stars Coach Dave Tippett, born August 25, 1961, is five months older than Chelios...  Chelios played his first game March 8, 1984, or 12 days before teammate Valtteri Filppula was born.

March Madness: Johan Franzen scored 14 goals - six of them game winners – in March, surpassing the single-month record Gordie Howe shared with Henrik Zetterberg.

Motown Coach: Mike Babcock this season became the first coach in League history to win 50 or more games in his first three seasons with an NHL team. He also steered the Red Wings to the Presidents' Trophy in his first season in Detroit, 2005-06.

Flipping Over: Nicklas Lidstrom has won the Norris Trophy five times in the past six seasons. Only Bobby Orr (8) and Doug Harvey (7) have won it more times.
 

Richards ties Playoff Record: Brad Richards tied an NHL playoff record with four points (1-3-4) in the third period at San Jose in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinal. Richards tied the mark set 12 times previously. He was the first player to collect four points in a playoff period since New Jersey's Alexander Mogilny had one goal and three assists on Apr. 28, 2001 against Toronto. Dave Gagner was the only other player in franchise history to accomplish the feat, notching four points (2-2-4) in the first period on Apr. 8, 1991 vs. Chicago. The three assists and four points for Richards also set playoff career highs for him in a game.

Turco Time: Including a shutout in the Stars’ opening-round win over Anaheim, Marty Turco has four shutouts in his past 19 playoff starts. The hot streak dates to the 2007 playoffs, when he posted three in the opening-round series loss against Vancouver. Over his last three playoff series dating back to the Vancouver series, Turco has posted an 11-8 record with a 1.56 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage.

Turco’s Talks on Joe Louis Arena: "I think there’s been a lot of talk about my professional issues... my lack of success there (0-7-2 his past 10 starts at Joe Louis). But the only thing I have in the back of my mind was to play there in the playoffs and see what happens. I got my wish against a team that’s been dominating in the regular season and playoffs and one that’s going to take every inch of battle from us.”

Turco's Collegiate Past At Joe Louis: 10 years ago, when the Stars and Red Wings last met in the Stanley Cup playoffs, University of Michigan star goaltender Marty Turco was leading his Wolverines to their record ninth NCAA hockey championship - a 3-2 overtime win over Boston College on April 4, 1998. Six days later, the curtain came down on Turco's outstanding collegiate career at Joe Louis Arena when a team of U.S. collegiate stars, led by Turco, defeated their Canadian counterparts 3-1 on Apr. 10/98.

Morrow's Career Year: LW Brenden Morrow set career highs with 32 goals and 74 points points and equaled his career-best with 42 assists. Morrow on the increased offensive production:

Morrow leads all playoff performers in hits (66) and, with an average per-game ice time of 23:32, ranks second among all forwards in the 2008 playoffs – trailing only Alex Ovechkin (24:03). Morrow, who was named captain of the Stars on September 15, 2006, has earned the praise of his teammates and coaches with his play in the 2008 playoffs.

40+ wins, again: The Stars have now registered 40 or more wins in the regular season for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. Only New Jersey (11) has more 40-or-more win seasons since 1996-97.