by KEVIN GREENSTEIN, Inside Hockey

Updated: May 13, 2008, 12:57 PM EST 35 comments

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Why the Red Wings won: As this series has progressed, it's become quite clear that the Wings' dominance over the Avalanche in the second round wasn't only due to injuries on the Colorado side. Indeed, the Wings are playing some of the sharpest hockey we've seen since they last won the Stanley Cup in 2002. From their tape-to-tape passing to their lethal transition game, the Wings control play in all three zones. And in the rare instances when they lapse defensively, Chris Osgood has been there to make nearly every key save. The Wings have now won nine consecutive playoff games, paced to their latest victory by a Pavel Datsyuk hat trick, and it will take a truly legendary comeback for the Dallas Stars to overcome a 3-0 deficit in this now one-sided series. And perhaps most impressive of all, the Wings have won their last two games despite operating without leading goal-scorer Johan Franzen (post-concussion symptoms).

Why the Stars lost: Every mistake the Stars make in this series seems to end up in the back of their net, and Game 3 was no different. While Dallas' scrappy style played quite well against the Ducks and the Sharks, two teams that play more of a North-South game, the Red Wings' controlled East-West passing game has rendered the Stars' forecheck surprisingly ineffective. And moreover, while the Dallas defense handled the physical play of the Ducks and Stars quite well, they've been shown to be too slow to keep up with Detroit's speedy, talented forward corps.

Key moment: While the Stars were undergoing a sloppy line change, Niklas Kronwall hit Jiri Hudler with a stellar home-run pass. Hudler raced in alone on Stars netminder Marty Turco, who failed to challenge Hudler and instead cautiously remained in his crease. With entirely too much net to shoot at, Hudler backhanded the puck past Turco to score the game-winning third goal in the Wings' 5-2 victory.

What's next: For the Stars, trying to stave off what appears to be an inevitable elimination from these playoffs. And for the Wings, winning Game 4 would mean they'll get some valuable rest (particularly for Franzen) to help ensure that they'll be as healthy as possible for the Cup Finals and their pursuit of what would be a fourth championship in 11 years.