DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have a knack for finding quality players and finding ways to win.

Playoff goal-scoring machine Johan Franzen never made it to the ice Saturday for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Enter 21-year-old rookie center Darren Helm.

Helm provided the game's first score, beating Marty Turco on a rush from the right circle, and Detroit won, 2-1, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

It was Helm's first NHL goal, regular season or playoffs. And it was a far cry from the nervous, unproven player who Red Wings coach Mike Babcock saw in March.

"We didn't have expectations of him, whatsoever," Babcock said. "And the first time we called him up, I was scared to play him, and he was scared to play."

What a difference two months has made.

"Now, in the playoffs, he's a player that can play against anybody," Babcock said. "He's flat-out fast. He's gritty."

Helm has fed off Babcock's growing faith.

"He's shown a lot of confidence in me, and it helps me play my game," Helm said.

Detroit needed all the scoring it could get Saturday.

At the morning skate, the Red Wings learned that Franzen, who had scored a franchise-record 12 goals in the playoffs, would miss Game 2 and Monday's Game 3 with "concussion-like symptoms."

According to a team news release, Franzen had been experiencing headaches since early in the Western Conference semifinals against Colorado. The Detroit medical staff has suggested he not play until further tests can be done Monday in Detroit.

No one remembered a particularly big hit in the Colorado series, when he began getting headaches.

"It's all about the player and his family first," Babcock said. "So in the meantime, we've got to suck it up and find a way to win."

Others stepped up as well, besides the expected contributions from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

Daniel Cleary moved to Detroit's second line to replace Franzen, playing 19:18 and recording two shots and six hits.

Franzen's injury also allowed veteran Darren McCarty (four hits, plus-one) to return to the lineup after one game as a healthy scratch.

The Red Wings limited the Stars to six third-period shots and almost no quality scoring chances in the final 10 minutes.

And despite not having their top scoring threat, the Red Wings won their eighth straight.