Detroit Red Wings

Marian Hossa's short-handed goal got the short-handed Detroit Red Wings started Sunday. And once they got rolling, the defending champions overpowered the frustrated Chicago Blackhawks and moved to within one win of a return trip to the Stanley Cup finals. With injured stars Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk sidelined, Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg had two goals each, sending the Red Wings to a 6-1 victory and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The Detroit Red Wings now know one thing: It's not going to be easy. The Blackhawks got themselves right back into the Western Conference finals series with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Wings in Game 3 on Friday night at the United Center. The win cut Chicago's deficit series to two games to one with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday. It could be a costly victory, however, as both star winger Martin Havlat and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin left the game because of injuries.

Dan Cleary was close to being an ex-NHL player when the league emerged from the lockout four years ago. The Detroit Red Wings gave him another shot. The gritty forward took advantage, and the defending Stanley Cup champions are glad he did. Cleary matched a playoff career high with two goals against the team that drafted him, leading the Red Wings to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. Game 2 is Tuesday night in Detroit.

The Detroit Red Wings, looking to become the first repeat Stanley Cup champions since they accomplished the feat in 1997 and 1998, continue their quest in the Western Conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks today at Detroit. The Eastern Conference finals begin in Pittsburgh on Monday night, when the Penguins play host to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Red Wings are in the conference finals for the third consecutive year and for the eighth time in 14 seasons.

While Ryan Getzlaf battled flu symptoms and needed IV treatment last week, the Ducks slipped onto the playoff critical list. Rested and reinvigorated, Getzlaf restored his team to good health Tuesday at the Honda Center. Their franchise center and captain of the not-too-distant future prolonged their season by engineering both goals in a 2-1 victory that set up a seventh game Thursday in Detroit to determine who will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals.

This just in . . . The Detroit Red Wings have decided not to roll over and play dead following a 4-3 triple-overtime loss to the Ducks on Sunday, which left the Stanley Cup playoff series tied, 1-1. Defenseman Chris Chelios was chipper, not chippy, on Monday. Center Pavel Datsyuk offered a single-minded stump speech. And Coach Mike Babcock was tossing out "What, me worry?" comments.

The San Jose Sharks inspired pity after they were sent home by the Ducks and added another stinker to a string of playoff failures. The Detroit Red Wings inspired admiration for overcoming sometimes-shaky goaltending to win the revived Central Division and earn the No. 2 seeding in the West. The Sharks have the Presidents' trophy to cry into. The Red Wings have a Stanley Cup to defend, a task they began with a sweep of the playoff debutant Columbus Blue Jackets.

And so we now bid farewell to the Kings, not because they play their next three games on the road but because their season, for all intents, ended Thursday in a soulless and goalless loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It's no shame to lose to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Many teams have been beaten by the pinpoint passing, potent power play and staunch work ethic that have fueled the Red Wings' 8-0-2 surge since their last regulation-time loss.

There is a thin line that the Ducks would like to believe separates them from the NHL's elite, a line as thin as the crossbar-high, imaginary one they believe Detroit's Johan Franzen crossed when he deflected Pavel Datsyuk's shot into the net.

After falling behind a goal early in the third period, the Detroit Red Wings were almost exactly where they wanted to be. Dan Cleary scored with 1:34 left about two minutes after Jiri Hudler tied it and the Red Wings beat the Kings, 6-4, Saturday night. "I think we play way better when we're down a goal. When the chips are down, we find a way to tie it or win it," Cleary said. "We just have to get that urgency and mind-set early in games when we're ahead or even."