Detroit romp to win over Dallas in Western opener

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Detroit Red Wings earned a convincing 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals opener on Thursday.

Brian Rafalski and Johan Franzen put the Red Wings 2-0 up in the first period with powerplay goals before Swede Tomas Holmstrom added a third with a powerplay tip-in in the second.

Finn Valtteri Filppula made it 4-0 before the Stars got on the board through Brenden Morrow late in the second, but the fifth-seeded Stars were unable to stop Detroit picking up their seventh successive win in the post-season.

Game two of the best-of-seven series will be played on Saturday in Detroit.

The Red Wings went into the game after a week off but looked sharp as they outshot the Stars 31-21.

"We talked a lot about we had to get started," said Wings coach Mike Babcock.

"We couldn't wait. Had to engage right from the get-go. We knew if we didn't they would be all over us. I think any time you've won a big series like they have and you've played the overtimes like they did and the emotion, sometimes it's hard to get started right away.

"I thought we were able to jump on them early. But there's no question that the next game now they'll be back and rolling," added Babcock.

Dallas reached this stage after defeating defending champions Anaheim Ducks in the first round and then dealing with the second-seeded San Jose Sharks in the second.

Stars coach Dave Tippet conceded his team might have paid the price of those hard-earned victories.

"Whether we get our legs back in Dallas, time will tell," Tippett said. "But we've got to regroup tomorrow and come out and have a much better game on Saturday, too."

(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Peter Rutherford)