Detroit Red Wings centre Johan Franzen (93) is congratulated by teammates Mikael Samuelsson (37) and Valtteri Filppula (51) during the first period. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jack Dempsey)
DENVER - Johan Franzen's second hat trick in three games fuelled the Detroit Red Wings' 8-2 rout Thursday night that completed a sweep of the injury-riddled Colorado Avalanche.
Franzen's nine goals in this series matched Colorado's total. In his first taste of the bitter rivalry, Franzen was simply too dominant to experience the bad blood that usually boils this time of year between the teams.
The "Mule" scored on a breakaway in the first period and added a short-handed backhander and a redirection into the net in the second, when the Red Wings scored four times to take a 7-1 lead.
The Red Wings advance to the Western Conference finals against the winner of the Dallas-San Jose series which the Stars lead 3-1.