1. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit: Stepped up in a big way when it looked like his team was flat. His goal in the second period started the fire, and his goal in the third poured a drum of gasoline on it.

2. Valterri Filppula, Detroit: A goal and two assists in a spirited performance.

3. Johan Franzen, Detroit: His work in front of the net led to two goals.

1st: Brad Richards stayed out for a long first shift and helped the Stars get on the board at the 1:08 mark. Joel Lundqvist made two nice plays to keep the puck alive in the zone and fed the puck to Trevor Daley, who blasted a shot through a Richards screen for his fourth goal this season. Detroit came back on a power play goal at the 7:46 mark. Pavel Datsyuk won a faceoff back to Nick Lidstrom, and Lidstrom put a shot on goal that Johan Franzen tipped in. The power play took six seconds to score.

Stars 1, Detroit 1

2nd: Lundqvist brought the puck out from behind the net and wheeled around to send a spinning pass into the crease. Lehtinen crashed the net and tipped the puck in for his 13th goal of the season. Dallas then went up 3-1 when Brenden Morrow pulled a puck from behind the net and popped it in on the power play. Pavel Datsyuk then picked up a puck that was misplayed between Niklas Hagman and Mark Fistric and scored on his own rebound to make it 3-2.

Stars 3, Detroit 2

3rd: Detroit left little doubt in the Stars' minds that they were carrying the momentum of the game. Datsyuk fished a puck out of the skates of Lundqvist and fired a shot from 40 feet that slipped right through Marty Turco to tie the score at the 36 second mark. The Red Wings then took a 4-3 lead at the 1:01 mark when they crashed the net, creating a scramble in front, and Stephane Robidas tipped a puck into his own net. Valtteri Filppula then scored into an empty net for the final score.

Detroit 5, Stars 3