The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks for the second consecutive game on Monday night, taking a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference Semifinal matchup on the strength of a 3-1 win.
Pavel Datsyuk scored at 6:46 of the third period to halt a Chicago comeback and seal the victory. After Johan Franzen gained the Chicago zone, he dished the puck off to Datsyuk for a heavy wrister from the right faceoff circle over the shoulder of Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford to make it 3-1.
.After a Game One that saw the Red Wings unable to generate any offense while dropping a 4-1 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit turned the tables in Game Two, evening their series while carrying play in a 4-1 victory of their own.
The series will shift to Joe Louis Arena for Game Three on Monday.
.The Detroit Red Wings couldn't hold off a sustained attack by the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night, dropping a 4-1 decision in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinal series between the teams.
After a first period that saw Detroit outshoot Chicago 7-6, the Blackhawks had a 36-14 shot advantage for the remainder of the game.
.The Red Wings and Blackhawks begin their Western Conference Semifinal matchup tonight with Game One in Chicago.
Detroit will go with a similar lineup to what they used to close out their series with the Ducks on Sunday. Mikael Samuelsson is out in favor of Cory Emmerton on the fourth line but everything else remains the same.
.The National Hockey League officially announced the schedule for the Western Conference Semifinal playoff series between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.
The Central Division rivals will meet in Game One in Chicago on Wednesday night.
Games will take place every-other day, with the exception of a two-day break between Game One and Game Two and again between Game Three and Game Four, meaning that the Red Wings will have more rest days in their series with Chicago than they did in their first-round matchup with the Anaheim Ducks.
.The Detroit Red Wings held off a late charge by the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday for a 3-2 win in Game Seven of their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup. With the win, the Wings advance to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Detroit took a two-goal lead into the game's final period and, unlike earlier games in the series where they gave up two- and three-goal leads, made it stand up.
.Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg scored twice Friday night, including the overtime winner as the Red Wings took a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks to force a Game Seven in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series.
All of Detroit's wins have come in the extra frame, as the teams met for a fourth overtime engagement.
The Detroit Red Wings were unable to pull out a third overtime win of their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, dropping a 3-2 decision.
The Red Wings had previously won Game Two and Game Four on goals scored in the first overtime period, accounting for all of their wins in the series.
.For the second time in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series with Anaheim, one of Detroit's rookies provided the heroics to lift the Red Wings past the Ducks and into a series tie after four games.
Damien Brunner scored with 4:50 remaining in the overtime period on Monday night to give the Red Wings a 3-2 win over the Ducks.
.For the second consecutive game, the Red Wings allowed three third-period goals by the Ducks. On Saturday night, however, there was no overtime hero as Detroit dropped a 4-0 decision to Anaheim.
The Ducks broke a scoreless tie late in the second period on a power play brought on by a controversial Justin Abdelkader hit.
