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Franzen lifts Red Wings over Maple Leafs

Oct 4, 2008 - 2:29 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Johan Franzen provided distinct flashbacks of his postseason success in 2007-08 during a preseason contest on Friday.

Franzen scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-3 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Franzen, who netted 13 goals in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs - tying Henrik Zetterberg's record - en route to becoming a major factor in the Red Wings' championship win, converted a pass from Zetterberg with 1:57 remaining in the third period for his second goal of the night, his third of the preseason and a 4-3 edge.

Valtteri Filppula scored an empty-netter with 17 seconds left to secure the victory.

Zetterberg used passes from Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson to give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead 1:53 into the third, but Mikhail Grabovski beat goaltender Ty Conklin 7:56 later to pull the Maple Leafs even.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom opened the scoring with 7:05 left the first and Franzen tallied 2:20 later to give Detroit an early 2-0 advantage against Vesa Toskala, who turned aside 28 shots.

Alex Steen got the Maple Leafs on the board at 8:31 of the second, and a power-play tally by Jiri Tlusty exactly two minutes later forged a 2-2 tie.

Jiri Hudler notched three assists and defenseman Brian Rafalski added two for Detroit.

Conklin, who will serve as Chris Osgood's backup, made 19 saves.