Red Wings-Stars: Detroit Wins Fifth Straight, Reaches 100 Points

The Detroit Red Wings looked to be in serious trouble after going on a 1-8-2 funk during February.

The Red Wings, who had a 17-point lead over the second closest competitor in the Western Conference, looked to be on the verge of a major collapse as the red-hot Dallas Stars crept to within three points a couple weeks back.

But now, the Red Wings look like they're back on track, winning their fifth straight contest on Thursday, a 5-3 come-from-behind triumph over the Stars in what could be a Western Conference Final preview later this spring.

With the victory, Detroit tied an NHL record with its eighth straight 100-point season, and also became the first team this season to officially clinch a playoff berth.

And on this night, it was Pavel Datsyuk who came through, potting two goals and an assist, rallying the Red Wings from a 3-1 deficit. Datsyuk, who scored late in the second period before tying it at 3-3 just 36 seconds into the third, now has seven goals in the last eight games.

The Red Wings, who trailed by a goal after forty minutes, owned the third period, outshooting Dallas 10-3 and quickly gained momentum with Datskyuk's quick goal and Mikael Samuelsson's game-winner just 25 seconds later.

The Wings as a team have scored 20 goals in the five-game winning streak, and seem to be peaking at the right time, a dark contrast to the previous ten contests, when they tallied just 17 goals.

The Stars, in the meantime, have now lost four of their last five, and are now 11 points behind the Red Wings. In fact, Dallas isn't even leading its division anymore, sitting a point behind the streaking San Jose Sharks.

The Stars are currently fourth in the conference standings.

But getting back to the Red Wings, it is certainly an amazing accomplishment for the proud organization, as they have tied the Montreal Canadiens' record of eight consecutive 100-point campaigns, which was set from 1975-82.

Detroit fans, you guys are lucky to have such a great hockey franchise. With the Tigers expecting to challenge in the AL Central in baseball--thanks to the acquisition of left-handed starter Dontrelle Willis--and the Pistons being No. 2 in the NBA's Eastern Conference, it looks to be an exciting next few weeks--perhaps even months?--in the Motor City.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Certainly, since I'm not a Detroit fan, I don't want the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup, but right now they sure look like the team to beat in the Western Conference.

We'll all find out soon enough once the playoffs begin.

For now, congratulations and enjoy the great achievement.