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Franzen, Red Wings hoping to extend series lead

Apr 26, 2008 - 1:20 PM Colorado at Detroit 3:00 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Red Wings lead, 1-0

DETROIT (Ticker) - Johan Franzen and the Detroit Red Wings attempt to take a two-games-to-none lead in their Western Conference semifinal series against the rival Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in Game Two.

Franzen scored two goals and set up another Thursday in Game One as the top-seeded Red Wings hung on for a 4-3 victory over the sixth-seeded Avalanche.

Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Cleary also scored and defenseman Brian Rafalski added two assists for Detroit, which nearly squandered a three-goal lead.

"We played real well in the first, then we stopped skating and hung on," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "Their level of urgency went up and we seemed to relax."

Chris Osgood made 18 saves for Detroit, which outshot Colorado by a 36-21 margin.

"We played good. I think both teams did," Osgood said. "Nobody's ever going to run away with a game. Two really good teams. ... We just have to stay composed and be smart out there."

Paul Stastny, defenseman John-Michael Liles and Milan Hejduk tallied for the Avalanche, who were without center Peter Forsberg for Thursday's loss due to a sore groin.

"He pulled his groin in the morning skate," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said after Thursday's loss. "We were hoping he would be able to go, but he wasn't able to go through pregame warmups. Obviously, you miss Peter's talent because he attracts a lot of attention from the opposition."

The Avalanche also lost the services of Wojtek Wolski, who suffered an upper body injury in the first period and did not return.

"I don't know exactly what happened to him," said Colorado left wing Ryan Smyth, who notched a pair of assists. "He's a power forward that takes the puck to the net. He's a huge asset for us. When you lose a guy like that, it's tough on the rotation of the lines."

Wolski is expected to be out for the remainder of the best-of-seven series, while Forsberg is questionable for Saturday's game.