FanHouse Nik Kronwall

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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The NHL has decided not to suspend Ducks forward Mike Brown for his first-period hit on Detroit's Jiri Hudler in Game 1, which undoubtedly will upset the Red Wings and will lead to declarations that the league isn't being consistent in its discipline. After all, the argument goes, the league leveled a six-game suspension on Washington's Donald Brashear for a hit on Blair Betts of the Rangers in the first round.

Perhaps the NHL overreacted somewhat in that instance, but in this case, the decision seems warranted. After repeated viewings of Brown's hit on Hudler, I was not convinced it warranted a suspension, particularly a lengthy one.

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There was a time when the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry was the fiercest in the sport. We're talking bench clearing brawls, Sports Illustrated covers and a whole lot of bad blood. Oh, and they occasionally played some hockey too.

But thanks to time and tide -- though mostly due to the fact that Colorado hasn't demonstrated the same sort of sustained excellence we've seen out of Detroit -- what was once a turgid cauldron of hate is now just some chicken noodle soup on a long simmer.

But that might change momentarily. At the trade deadline the Avalanche brought back two old faces -- Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg -- who remember quite well what this rivalry used to be all about. Toss in Jose Theodore, a once-great goalie who has suddenly revived his game, and we might be in for a few surprises.