Dallas Stars Look to Cool Off Hot Wings

The Dallas Stars will travel to Detroit Thursday to try and put an end to the Red Wings' six-game winning streak in game one of the Western Conference Finals. 

The Stars have certainly earned their way here.  They knocked off the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks, and ousted what was, in the minds of many, the hottest team entering the playoffs—the San Jose Sharks.  

After falling down three games to none in the series against Dallas, the Sharks battled back to win games four and five.  Evgeni Nabokov certainly put the Sharks in stellar position in game six, making one jaw-dropping save after another. 

However, his 53 saves were outdone by the Stars' Marty Turco, who made a franchise record 61 saves in the four-overtime victory.  

"It's nice to be on this side of it for once," Turco said. "We've had some long ones before. But none of them was more memorable than this one. It was 99 percent fun tonight."

Brenden Morrow netted the game winner for the Stars after 131:03 of hockey at the American Airlines Center.  

On the other hand, the Red Wings have won six straight, including a four-game sweep of their archrival Colorado Avalanche in the second round.  

After finishing off the upstart Nashville Predators in six games in the first round, the intense rivalry looked as though it might be renewed. 

However, injuries to the Avalanche and an absolute onslaught of goals by the Red Wings finished this series long before many thought it would end.  

Johan Franzen, known to his teammates as "The Mule,” had an unprecedented nine goals against Colorado, including two hat tricks, setting an NHL record for goals in a four-game series.  

"He's been great. He's a big, big man with lots of skill. We're lucky to have him," said Mike Babcock, head coach of the Red Wings. 

While Colorado kept it close in games one and three (one-goal losses), the Red Wings were clearly the better team in the series. 

Granted, by game four, the Avalanche were without Peter Forsberg (ankle, groin), Ryan Smyth (foot), Paul Stastny (knee), Scott Hannan (lower body), and Wojtek Wolski (upper body) amongst others.  

Now it's the Red Wings and Stars—a matchup many thought would happen back when they were 1-2 in the West in February. 

The Red Wings went 3-1 against the Stars this season with the only loss coming on the road 1-0.  

Prediction: Red Wings in six.