Red Wings Stun Blackhawks in Series Opener

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 -- On Sunday night, the Western Conference Finals kicked off at Joe Louis Arena with the Red Wings hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Hawks were hoping to get an early jump on Detroit, Daniel Cleary, the hero of the series against Anaheim, scored twice while Johan Franzen added to his team-leading goal total, as the Red Wings overpowered the Blackhawks 5-2.

Chicago actually scored first in the game, which is one area they struggled in against Vancouver, scoring first in only one game all series. However, Cleary’s first goal came only three minutes after Adam Burish had put the Hawks up, and the Wings never looked back. Franzen scored the lone goal of the second period, and while Chicago tied the game early in the 3rd, the Red Wings responded with three goals down the stretch, including Cleary’s second of the game and Henrik Zetterberg’s empty netter with under 45 seconds to play.

While the result of the game may have disappointed the Blackhawks, they shouldn’t feel too bad about losing Game 1, since Detroit has not lost a Game 1 since 2007. One of the keys to Detroit’s success was the fact that they were able to keep both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane without a single point in the series opener. Detroit also outshot the Blackhawks 43-32, which is a margin that Chicago will have to narrow if they hope to stand any chance in the coming games. Game 2 is in Detroit on Tuesday night.