Datsyuk's hat trick lifts Red Wings
DALLAS: Pavel Datsyuk scored his first career hat trick to power the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday, moving the Western Conference top seeds to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Red Wings have eased to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven conference finals series and one more victory would set up an NHL title showdown against either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins lead that series 2-0.
Game 4 is in Dallas on Wednesday.
Datsyuk scored twice in the first period as Detroit got off to a fast start, then completed his landmark three-goal haul late in the third period.
Henrik Zetterberg added his ninth playoff goal and had two assists for the Red Wings, who won their ninth consecutive playoff game.
Zetterberg's short-handed goal came 1:38 into the third period.
"Those two (Datsyuk and Zetterberg) are superstars, but the good thing about them is they're complete players, too," Wings netminder Chris Osgood told reporters.
Jiri Hudler also scored for Detroit, getting the go-ahead goal on a breakaway 11:54 into the second period.
Nicklas Grossman and Brad Richards scored for the home team.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/14/2008 page24)
