| The Dallas Stars face elimination from the 2008 NHL Playoffs when they visit the Detroit Red Wings for Game 5 of the Western Conference final Saturday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can advance to the Stanley Cup Final with a win, giving it a chance to seek the 11th NHL championship in franchise history.
Dallas picked up its first victory of the series on Wednesday. The Stars won 3-1 as a +150 home underdog and the score went under the total of 5.
Johan Franzen, who leads the Wings with 12 goals, is not expected to return for Game 5. Forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have picked up the slack in his absence; Datsyuk recorded a hat trick in Game 3 and Zetterberg was the lone scorer last game.
Wednesday’s loss was Detroit goalie Chris Osgood’s first setback in the 2008 playoffs. He is 9-1 with a 1.62 GAA overall and at home is 7-0 with a 1.42 GAA.
The Stars are 7-19-5 in the past 31 meetings, and 0-4 in the past four meetings in Detroit. The home team is 5-1 in the past six meetings. Fourteen of the past 22 meetings have gone under the total.
The game starts at 1:30 pm ET and can be seen on NBC and CBC.
Betting Line: Detroit is a -270 favorite at BetUS, one of NHLmatchups.com’s recommended sportsbooks, and the total is 5.
Betting Consensus: Nearly 85 per cent of bets placed on this game are on Detroit.
Pick: Detroit.
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