Hockey Today May 2

Hockey Today

Dallas at San Jose (10 p.m. EDT). The Sharks avoided a four-game sweep in this second-round series by beating the Stars 2-1 on Wednesday night.

STARS

-Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings. Franzen had three goals and Zetterberg added two goals and two assists in Detroit's 8-2 rout of Colorado.

-Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers. Jagr scored twice and Lundqvist stopped a penalty shot among his 29 saves to lead New York past Pittsburgh 3-0.

FRANZEN FRENZY

Johan Franzen recorded his second hat trick in three games with three more goals and helped Detroit complete the four-game sweep of Colorado with an 8-2 win on Thursday night. Franzen's nine goals in the series matched the total for the Avalanche, and his three goals in Game 4 made him the first player with two hat tricks in one series since Jari Kurri did it for Edmonton in 1985. Franzen needed just 10 playoff games to score 11 goals and break the Red Wings' record for most goals in one postseason, which was held by three players, including Brett Hull, who needed 23 games to do it in 2002.

STOPPED AT SEVEN

Pittsburgh lost for the first time in eight playoff games this postseason after falling to the New York Rangers 3-0 in Game 4 of the semifinals on Thursday night. The Penguins are 5-4 in Game 4 when leading a series 3-0. No team has started 8-0 in the playoffs since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers.

IN THE CREASE

New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped his second penalty shot of this year's playoffs after denying Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin during the second period of Thursday night's 3-0 win. Lundqvist also stopped an attempt by New Jersey's John Madden in the first round. ... Detroit's Chris Osgood improved to 6-0 this postseason after making 29 saves in an 8-2 win over Colorado that completed the four-game sweep in that semifinal series.

SHORT-HANDED

Colorado played without center Peter Forsberg and forward Ryan Smyth in Game 4 against Detroit and was swept in the semifinal series with an 8-2 loss. Forsberg, who's dealing with a balky ankle and a strained groin, missed the first two games of the series before returning for Game 3, when he committed a costly penalty. Smyth missed Game 3 with a foot injury.

IMPROVING

New York Rangers forward Sean Avery remained in an intensive care, two days after his spleen was lacerated during a playoff loss to Pittsburgh. The internal bleeding, that has kept Avery in intensive care, stopped Thursday. If that improvement continues, he could be moved out of the unit Friday morning. Avery did not need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

SPEAKING

``That's one of the first times I've seen a player on the breakaway try to finish his check,'' - Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien on a penalty shot awarded to star forward Evgeni Malkin after he was pushed into the net by stickless Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi while on a breakaway on Thursday night. Malkin's attempt was stopped and New York won 3-0 to remain alive in the playoffs.