Franzen's dandy period helps Wings stave off elimination

Hockey Betting Lines

05/07/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Franzen notched a natural hat trick in a fabulous first period, sparking the Detroit Red Wings to a resounding 7-1 win over San Jose to stay alive after four games of their Western Conference semifinal series at Joe Louis Arena.

Franzen was a Todd Bertuzzi shin pad away from matching the NHL playoff record for goals in a period. He completed the hat trick in a span of 3:26, with his third tally giving Detroit, which was facing elimination, a 4-0 lead at 11:16.

Franzen eventually picked up his fourth goal on a power play at 7:33 of the third to go along with two assists -- setting a franchise record for points in one playoff game -- and breaking the mark of five set by Norm Ullman in 1963-64 and Steve Yzerman in 1996.

"It was nice for (Franzen) to step up and shoot (the puck) in the net," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "He is like all scorers or anybody who's hot, you shoot the puck and it finds a way in the net."

Bertuzzi and Henrik Zetterberg both collected three assists for the Red Wings, who avoided getting swept out of the playoffs for the first time since losing a 2003 first-round matchup with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Only two teams have ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series -- the New York Islanders in 1975 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. Detroit's quest to join the small fraternity continues Saturday in San Jose.

Valtteri Filppula and Brian Rafalski also scored for the two-time defending conference champions, while Calder Trophy nominee Jimmy Howard made 28 saves.

San Jose starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov stopped just four of the nine shots he faced in the forgettable opening frame. Thomas Greiss replaced Nabokov at the beginning of the second period and finished with 26 saves.

"We're all disappointed," said San Jose head coach Todd McLellan. "Not so much the fact we lost, but the fact we weren't prepared when we knew what was coming. We said all the right things but didn't respond to it. We got away from our game. It wasn't going our way, we didn't stick with it. We have some work to do."

The Sharks had won six in a row since defenseman Dan Boyle's own-goal in Game 3 of their opening-round series against Colorado.

The Red Wings' offensive surge began 5:40 into the contest. With a tripping penalty to San Jose center Dwight Helminen winding down, Franzen fired a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off Bertuzzi at the edge of the crease and through the legs of Nabokov.

Franzen, who had just two goals entering Thursday, lit the lamp at 7:50, spinning after some contact with Nabokov and swatting a backhander as he fell to the ice.

"The Mule" struck again at 10:43. Bertuzzi gathered a stretch pass from Nicklas Lidstrom and carried the puck across the blue line before making a drop pass to a trailing Franzen, who ripped a shot that beat Nabokov over the glove.

Franzen found the back of the net again 33 seconds later. Boyle failed in his attempt to glove the puck out of his zone. Franzen grabbed the loose puck between the circles and snapped a shot that Nabokov kicked out with the right pad but Franzen buried his own rebound.

For the remainder of the period, the Swede was thought to have become the third player to score four goals in a single period of a playoff game, joining Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux and Tim Kerr of the Flyers.

However, the goal was credited to Bertuzzi during the intermission.

Filppula added a goal with 1:10 to play in the first, throwing the puck toward the net and having it bounce off the skate of San Jose defenseman Douglas Murray.

Rafalski and San Jose forward Dany Heatley traded power-play goals in the middle stanza.

Game Notes

Carl Liscombe (1945) and Ted Lindsay (1955) also scored four goals in one playoff contest for Detroit...Lemieux scored four goals in the first period on April 25, 1989 against Philadelphia during a 10-7 victory in Game 5 of a Patrick Division final...Kerr pulled off the feat on April 13, 1985, against the New York Rangers in the second period of a 6-5 win during Game 3 of a Patrick Division semifinal...Franzen has a point in all 11 playoff games (six goals, 11 assists)...It was the first four-goal game of Franzen's career. The six points were a career high for Franzen...San Jose has never swept a playoff series in its 19-year history...Lidstrom had two assists and was a game-high plus-five...Sharks center Torrey Mitchell finished a minus-four...The last time the Red Wings scored five goals in a single period of a playoff game was May 5, 1996 in the first period of an 8-3 victory over St. Louis in Game 2 of the second round.