Hockey Today
Detroit at Dallas (8 p.m. EDT). The Stars limp home after dropping the first two games of the Western Conference finals at Joe Louis Arena.
Tuesday, May 13
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (7:30 p.m. EDT). The Penguins have a two-game lead over the Flyers in their Eastern Conference final series.
STAR
-Max Talbot, Penguins, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 4-2.
ROLLING
Pittsburgh took a two-game lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 Sunday night. The Penguins won the first two games at home for the third consecutive series, with Game 3 set for Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The Penguins are 7-0 at home in the playoffs and have won their last 15 at Mellon Arena.
FINED
In the closing seconds of Game 2 of the Western Conference final, Detroit goalie Chris Osgood used the handle of his stick to poke Dallas' Mike Ribeiro, who responded from behind the net with a two-handed stick slash across the goalie's chest. Ribeiro and Osgood were both fined undisclosed amounts Sunday by the NHL for their actions. But neither was suspended, so both will be on the ice Monday night for Game 3 when the best-of-seven series shifts to Dallas with the Red Wings holding a 2-0 lead.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mikko Koivu scored with less than four minutes remaining to give Finland a 3-2 come-from-behind win Sunday over the United States at the world hockey championships that was marred by a postgame brawl. As the final horn sounded to end the game, U.S. forward Dustin Brown drilled a Finnish defenseman into the boards with a hit to the head, touching off a melee that featured a fight between David Backes of the U.S. and Amsso Salmela of Finland.
SPEAKING
``It's something special - I was happy as a kid just to be back out there. It was extra special to get the game-winner.'' - Max Talbot after scoring the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to lift Pittsburgh to a 3-2 win over Philadelphia on Sunday.
Monday's best NHL bets
COVERS.com
Detroit at Dallas +100, 5
The Detroit Red Wings have to be the most frustrating team to play against in the playoffs. Their puck-control offense, combined with an air-tight defense and more pure talent than they know what to do with is just the beginning of it. Detroit always has the puck and rarely allows teams to get anywhere near 30 shots. The Wings are experienced and deep too, so they always seem composed.
It’s already getting to Dallas. The Stars head back home down 2-0, but started to come unraveled a bit when Mike Ribeiro and Detroit goalie Chris Osgood got into it in the final seconds of Game 2. It shouldn’t amount to much, though Dallas needs some kind of spark or Marty Turco to steal this game to stay in the series.
It’s hard to go against the Red Wings at this point, but if you’re going to at all in this series, this might be the game.
Pick: Dallas
NHL LONG SHEET
DETROIT (64-23-0-7, 135 pts.) at DALLAS (53-35-0-8, 114 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 10-4 (+5.2 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 10-4-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.0 Units)
NHL SHORT SHEET
Western Conference Playoffs
Conference Finals
Game Three
Detroit Leads, 2-0
Detroit at Dallas, 8:05 ET
Detroit:
11-5 Under Away off BB wins
7-0 Under playing 3 or less games in 10 days
Dallas:
13-1 SU playing with double revenge
28-14 SU off road loss
2008 NHL playoffs
Detroit won first two games of series 4-1/2-1, is now 5-1 vs the Stars this season, 9-2 in last 11 overall vs Dallas. Five of their last six visits to Dallas stayed under total, with Red Wings 4-2 in those six. Under is 7-3-2 in last 12 series games overall. Red Wings have won eight games in row since being tied 2-2 in an opening series vs Nashville.
Trend Sheet
8:00 PM DETROIT vs. DALLAS
Detroit is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Detroit is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
NHL Gameday
Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars
The Red Wings will be looking to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the Western Conference final when they head down to Dallas for Game 3 of this best-of-seven series on Monday night. Detroit handily won Game 1 of this set by a score of 4-1 last Thursday night, and they made it two straight wins over the Stars with a slim 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
That Saturday win came with Detroit down a skater - playoff scoring star Johan Franzen. The forward, who has scored 12 goals in 11 postseason games, was forced to sit out the contest with concussion-like symptoms, and will miss Monday's game as well. Detroit is hoping that Franzen is able to return to the lineup later during the week.
However, the Red Wings didn't need Franzen on Saturday, as they got goals from Henrik Zetterberg and Darren Helm and 17 saves from Chris Osgood in the 2-1 victory. Stephane Robidas had the lone Dallas marker, while Marty Turco turned aside 32 of 34 shots between the pipes for the Stars. Dallas forwards Steve Ott and Mike Ribeiro both received 10-minute penalties at the end of the game, but no suspensions were handed out.
The Stars could also be without forward Jere Lehtinen on Monday night, as he suffered a leg injury in Game 2. Dallas at least will have home-ice advantage in Game 3, but Detroit's momentum had them opening as road favorites for the contest - check your favorite sportsbooks for the latest odds and total for this game closer to its starting time.
Altercation over, feelings not for Red Wings and Stars
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS (AP) -Really, it's hard to imagine that Chris Osgood is completely correct in his assessment.
''Just a little altercation that's over with now,'' the Detroit goalie insisted Sunday, a day after the Red Wings' 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars was marred by an ugly ending.
But don't expect the fracas to be forgotten.
In the closing seconds of Game 2 of the Western Conference final, Osgood used the handle of his stick to poke Dallas' Mike Ribeiro, who responded from behind the net with a two-handed stick slash across the goalie's chest.
''He actually tries to do it. It's not like he accidentally hit me,'' Ribeiro said, defending himself Sunday after not being around for postgame interviews. ''He kind of was bent down, raised up and clipped me in the face.''
There was no word Sunday from the NHL about any suspensions resulting from the actions of both players. So it appears that Ribeiro and Osgood will both be on the ice Monday night for Game 3 when the best-of-seven series shifts to Dallas with the Red Wings holding a 2-0 lead. Dallas is set as a +100 underdog with the total at five goals.
Ribeiro said he was only retaliating.
''If he doesn't do that, I don't think I react, I have no reason to do what I did,'' Riberio said.
Osgood obviously disagreed, saying, ''By no means was I trying to hit him in the face with my stick.''
What can't be debated is that Dallas is already in a deep hole in its first conference final appearance since 2000. The Stars returned home with 2-0 series leads in each of the first two rounds of this year's playoffs, but wasn't able to duplicate that success against the top-seeded Red Wings.
Detroit will be going for a 3-0 series lead and its ninth straight win, which would be the franchise record for a single postseason. It would also be the longest in the NHL since Montreal won 11 in a row on way to winning the 1993 Stanley Cup.
''You're not going to rattle us. We've got too much experience for that,'' Detroit's Darren McCarty said.
While the stage appears set for things to get even more feisty when the series resumes, Mike Modano believes the Stars can't be focused on what happened at the end of Game 2.
''That's probably the most you're going to see of it (Saturday) night, hopefully,'' Modano said. ''They're not a very physical team by any means, but they do play the game. ... And for us to try to get into some street fight ain't going to work. You have to play the game of hockey and right now, they're doing it better than us.''
The Red Wings did so in Game 2 without Johan Franzen, who was scratched from the lineup because of concussion-like symptoms. He's had recurring headaches since early in the previous series, and will miss Game 3 as well.
''It caught me by surprise,'' coach Mike Babcock said. ''We'd love to have him. he's a good player. But we've got a good team and we can go on with or without him.''
Dallas Drake twisted his knee late in the third period of Game 2, but came back to skate another shift for the Red Wings.
Stars forward Jere Lehtinen left Game 2 with a leg injury, which coach Dave Tippett said was not sustained on the play when he was hit by teammate Brenden Morrow. The coach described Lehtinen's injury as ''just soft-tissue stuff'' and said the team would see how he feels at the Monday morning skate.
After three power-play goals in the 4-1 series opener, Detroit had only one in Game 2.
''We took a step forward in getting ourselves back into the competitive issues of the series last game, but it will still have to go up another step,'' Tippett said. ''I thought we had much better jump. Our legs looked like they were back to normal a little bit. Now we need some more execution.''
Dallas is back home for the first time since its four-overtime, nearly 5 1/2-hour series-clinching victory over San Jose that ended in the early morning hours last Monday.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars
The Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars will both be gunning for a victory on Monday night when they meet at American Airlines Center in Game 3 of the Western Conference final.
The Red Wings went up 2-0 in the series with a 2-1 win over the Stars on Saturday as -230 favorites. The three goals fell UNDER the posted over/under (5).
Darren Helm and Henrik Zetterberg on the power play scored for the Red Wings.
Stephane Robidas tallied on the power play for the Stars, and Marty Turco made 32 saves in a losing effort.
The Stars were +190 underdogs in Game 2.
Team records:
Detroit: 54-21-7
Dallas: 45-30-7
Detroit most recently:
When playing on Monday are 5-5
Before playing Edmonton are 5-5
After playing Dallas are 8-2
After a win are 9-1
Dallas most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Los Angeles are 5-5
After playing Detroit are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games at home
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
Next up:
Dallas home to Detroit, Wednesday, May 14