FanHouse 2009StanleyCupPlayoffs

CHICAGO -- They are a mind-numbing machine, really, almost monotonous in their dominance, discipline and staying power. Sport in the 21st century isn't conducive to a dynasty lasting a dozen years, but the winged-wheel jersey and slimy octopus of the Detroit Red Wings have been lodged in our consciousness since 1997, good for four Stanley Cups and maybe a fifth next month.

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Perhaps it was fitting that the Red Wings' first goal on Sunday came short-handed. After all, Detroit was without two significant contributors from the get-go in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Hart Trophy finalist Pavel Datsyuk missed his second game with an ankle injury, while Norris Trophy finalist Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit's captain and one of the great defenders in league history, was an unexpected scratch with a lower-body injury. The Wings, also without Kris Draper, shrugged off their missing men and cruised 6-1 at Chicago to take a three games to one lead in the series with Game 5 set for Wednesday at Detroit.

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Huge news out of Chicago, where the Detroit Red Wings are severely crippled in their bid to gain a stranglehold on the Western Conference Finals. All-Everything defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the series Friday night and will miss Sunday's game. It's the first time in Lidstrom's career that he has sat out a Red Wings playoff game -- a streak of 228 games..

Also out is forward Pavel Datsyuk, who will miss his second straight game in the series with a bad foot. He took a puck off his foot during Game 2 in Detroit.

As expected, the Chicago Blackhawks got off to a quick start Friday night against Detroit. The Red Wings had a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals, but Chicago was playing at home in a conference final game for the first time in 14 years.

After jumping to a 2-0 first-period lead, the Blackhawks got a controversial five-minute power play. Detroit's Niklas Kronwall stepped up at the Chicago blue line to lay out forward Martin Havlat, who had his head down trying to find a loose puck in his skates.

It's not a death blow by any means, but the Chicago Blackhawks are firmly behind the eight-ball, and they have all the pressure on them.

Tuesday night, a huge mistake by Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell set Detroit up for a game-winning goal. The overtime marker by Mikael Samuelsson put Detroit up 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

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A series billed as youth versus experience got its start Sunday, with the experience controlling most of the 60 minutes. Detroit's mix of amazing skill and unending will was more than enough to hold off Chicago at Joe Louis Arena. The opening game of the Western Conference Finals wasn't a blowout, but there was not much of a feeling Chicago could break through in this one.

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There were eight first-round series in the NHL playoffs. Three of them ended in sweeps, and six of them were over before they got to a seventh game. While no one complained about getting a couple of super Game 7s in the first round, it was hardly as competitive as some thought it would be.

As we approach Game 7 between Pittsburgh and Washington (Game 7s between Carolina-Boston and Anaheim-Detroit will be played Thursday night), let's take a moment to talk about how great this second round of action has been.

Normally, it's the Anaheim Ducks keeping everything on the perimeter. Most of the time, they're the ones that are making life miserable for opposing forwards who are trying to get to the net.

Sunday evening, it was the Detroit Red Wings turning the tables on their Western Conference semifinal opponents. Detroit put on a stirring display of puck possession and unending grit, and they got two late goals to put away the Ducks in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score will indicate.

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Winning on the road is so very important in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to be a good candidate for road success, being that they set a franchise record for it in the regular season.

That performance has indeed carried over. Chicago improved to 3-3 in road games during this postseason, and 2-1 in this series, as they bested Vancouver 4-2 Saturday night at GM Place.

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The Boston Bruins were the best team in the NHL's Eastern Conference for most of the season. They were a serious threat to win the President's Trophy, which goes to the best team in the league. During a first-round sweep of rival Montreal, the Bruins looked like a real contender.

After Friday night's loss to the underdog Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins are one loss away from a tee time at the local country club. That great regular season is in danger of going up in smoke.

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