Red Wings extend winning streak to nine

Pavel Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings got the best retaliation against Mike Ribeiro and the Dallas Stars – a record-setting victory.

Datsyuk scored twice in the first period then again with 2:41 left, and the Red Wings beat the Stars 5-2 Monday night in Dallas to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

This was Detroit’s ninth straight win, its most in a single postseason and the longest in the NHL since Montreal won 11 in a row in 1993. More importantly, the Red Wings will go into Game 4 on Wednesday night with the chance to skate into the Stanley Cup finals for the fourth time in 11 seasons.

Datsyuk’s first career hat trick overshadowed important goals by his teammates. Jiri Hudler converted a breakaway in the second period and Henrik Zetterberg scored a short-handed goal early in the third period for a daunting two-goal lead. Zetterberg also had the primary assist on two of Datsyuk’s goals.

As promised, Detroit players came out more focused on the scoreboard than settling a score with Ribeiro for the two-handed baseball swing of his stick into the chest of Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood as Game 2 ended.

The league fined both players, but neither was suspended.

The Stars dominated the first 6 minutes, but didn’t have anything to show for it as Datsyuk scored midway through the opening period; he then scored again just 11 seconds after Dallas had tied the game.

The Stars are now facing the long odds of trying to wipe out an 0-3 deficit, something that has happened only three times in NHL history.

Osgood stopped 16 shots to improve to 9-0 this postseason.

Detroit was without Johan Franzen, whose 12 playoff goals are tops in the NHL, for a second straight game because of concussion-like symptoms, but it hardly mattered.

Off the ice

The San Jose Sharks fired coach Ron Wilson after the team’s latest disappointing early ouster from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Sharks were the No. 2 seed in this year’s Western Conference playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by Dallas after falling into a 3-0 hole. In four-plus seasons, Wilson – the sixth coach in team history – went 206-134-45 in 385 games. … Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn is doubtful for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals after taking a puck in the face Sunday night. Coburn’s left eye was swollen shut after a deflected puck hit him early in the Flyers’ 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh. … The Nashville Predators have signed forward Martin Erat to a seven-year, $31.5 million contract.