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Red Wings, Stars renew rivalry in Game One of West finals

May 8, 2008 - 2:32 PM Dallas at Detroit 7:30 pm EDT Western Conference finals

DETROIT (Ticker) -- Seeking their fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance in the last 13 seasons, the Detroit Red Wings first need to get past the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

The Red Wings, who have not hoisted the Cup since 2002, will look take another step toward a possible 11th championship when they host the Stars on Thursday for Game One.

Despite being two of the elite teams in the conference over the past two decades, Detroit has faced Dallas just once in the conference finals. The Red Wings won that series in six games en route to their second straight title in 1998.

There is little doubt that Detroit has been the dominant team over the past 13 seasons. The Red Wings did not miss the playoffs and won three Stanley Cups in that span.

Detroit will be making its seventh appearance in the West finals over that stretch, posting a 4-2 mark in those series.

The Stars had failed to make it back to the conference finals since losing in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals, which concluded a three-year stretch in which Dallas was in the West finals - including a championship run in 1999.

Seeking their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, the fifth-seeded Stars have already upset the defending champion Anaheim Ducks and the second-seeded Sharks - both in six games.

In its deciding victory over the Sharks, Dallas needed four overtimes before captain Brenden Morrow's game-winner at 9:03 ended the eighth longest game in NHL history.

The top-seeded Red Wings have had little trouble since switching goaltenders after Game Four. Chris Osgood, who replaced six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek, has posted a 6-0 record with a 1.52 goals-against average and .937 save percentage.

Johan Franzen has also established himself as a possible Conn Smythe contender, notching a franchise playoff-record 11 goals. Franzen, who scored 27 goals during the regular season, collected nine tallies during the club's sweep of the sixth-seeded Avalanche in the conference semifinals.