NHL Blogging: Winging Onwards

I forgot to mention what happened while I was at the Joe for Game 2. When it was announced that Franzen was out of the line-up with signs of a concussion shortly before the game my stomach filled with that particularly aching pang of something about to go dreadfully wrong. But, still, the Wings pulled out the win in one of the most boring nail-biters I've ever seen - it was tense but it never seemed like the game was in real doubt.

Franzen remains out. He might play game 4 but, the way things are going, I doubt it. The shame is that if the Mule wants to set the playoff goal record now (He's only 7 back) he'll have to hope the Wings don't sweep.

A sweep seems likely - although not assured - after a devastating win in game 3. Datsyuk (Who got the Wings third hat trick this postseason) and Zetterberg were all over the place and were definitely the best players on the ice. Which was good since without Franzen and with the Stars presumably fired up by the Osgood Rebeiro thing and pumped up on their home ice, it seemed like the Stars' game to win.

About that, Osgood completely wacked him in the face. There's no denying it here - it was a dirty, cheap shot that shouldn't have been taken especially in the dying moments of game the Wings were about to win. But turning around and chopping at him with a stick in retaliation is completely unacceptable, too. They both should have been fined and maybe even suspended (Although at this point in the postseason you pretty much have to murder someone on the ice for that to happen). But the key, though, is that is show how rattled the Stars are. They're the ones who've been blowing chances and taking dumb penalties while the Wings have been skating circles around them.

This series is over. It might take a few more games to play out - the Stars don't want to go out in a sweep, after all - but the Wings are just too good. So, it looks like they're headed back to the Finals.

Maybe that will put some more butts in the seats because, while it looked to my eyes to be much better on Saturday than it was on Thursday, the arena was still shockingly sprinkled with missing patrons.