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head coach: Scotty Bowman

roster: C - Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris Draper, Sergei Fedorov. LW - Brendan Shanahan, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Doug Brown, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby, Brent Gilchrist. RW - Darren McCarty, Joey Kocur, Martin Lapointe. D - Nicklas Lidstrom, Bob Rouse, Slava Fetisov, Larry Murphy, Dmitri Mironov, Jamie Macoun, Aaron Ward, Anders Eriksson, Mathieu Dandenault. G - Chris Osgood, Kevin Hodson.

injuries: Brent Gilchrist, lw (abdominal strain, late April); Steve Yzerman, c (groin, day-to-day).

transactions: None.

standings:

Western Conference - Central Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
p-Dallas     82  49  22  11   109  242  167  
x-Detroit    82  44  23  15   103  250  196  
x-St Louis   82  45  29   8    98  256  204  
x-Phoenix    82  35  35  12    82  224  227  
Chicago      82  30  39  13    73  192  199  
Toronto      82  30  43   9    69  194  237  

x - Clinched playoff spot
p - Clinched President's Trophy

game results:

4/07 St. Louis    W 5-3
4/09 Phoenix      W 5-1
4/14 at Phoenix   L 2-1
4/15 at Dallas    L 3-1
4/18 at Colorado  L 4-3

team news:

by Dino Cacciola, Detroit Correspondent

ST. LOUIS

Goaltender Chris Osgood made 21 saves as the Red Wings took just their second win in six meetings with St. Louis this season with a 5-3 victory at home. Kris Draper scored the tie-breaking goal with about two minutes left in the game. It was a career-best 13th goal for Draper, who usually performs better during the playoffs than the regular season with his relentless play.

Kirk Maltby, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Martin Lapointe and Steve Yzerman also had goals. Yzerman's empty-net goal with 1:13 remaining ensured Detroit's fourth straight win. Dmitri Mironov and Dougie Brown both had two assists for Detroit.

Detroit and Dallas both have 99 points. The Red Wings have five games remaining in the regular season while the Stars have six. The Stars currently hold the conference's No. 1 playoff seed because they have two more wins than the Red Wings.

PHOENIX

Doug Brown scored two goals as the Red Wings regained a share of the Western Conference lead with a 5-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Steve Yzerman had a goal and an assist in the Red Wings' fifth straight win.

The Wings have scored a league-leading 240 goals, yet only Yzerman ranks among the top 20 NHL scorers. But the Red Wings have 11 players with at least 10 goals and seven with more than 40 points. A well-balanced offensive attack. Brown has 17 goals, one shy of his career high set in 1993-94 with Pittsburgh.

The Red Wings tied Dallas atop the Western Conference with 101 points. The Stars, who currently hold the conference's No. 1 seed because of two more victories than Detroit, have five games remaining to the Red Wings' four. Kirk Maltby and Dmitri Mironov also scored for Detroit.

PHOENIX

Goaltender Jimmy Waite played in Nikolai Khabibulin's absence and stopped 25 of 26 shots, including one in the final seconds to give the Coyotes a 2-1 win over the Red Wings to snap their six-game winning streak.

The Coyotes may open the postseason against the Red Wings. Detroit stayed two points behind idle Dallas in the race for the Central Division title and best record in the West with two games left to go. The Wings rested Steve Yzerman and Igor Larionov in the loss.

Slava Kozlov, who dominated the series this season, scored Detroit's goal. Four of Kozlov's 25 goals have come against Phoenix. Osgood had 21 saves, 12 in the first period alone.

DALLAS

Outshot 45-16, the Dallas Stars needed goalie Ed Belfour at his best against the Red Wings. He finished with 44 saves in a crucial 3-1 victory Wednesday night. With Belfour winning his sixth straight, Dallas clinched the NHL's best record and top playoff seed in the Western Conference.

The Red Wings had two victories and two ties against Dallas over the first four games of the season series before the Stars salvaged the finale.

Mike Knuble scored his seventh goal for Detroit. Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman wasn't as concerned with the Western Conference title, scratching Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov and Slava Fetisov with minor injuries.

The Red Wings had a chance to take control early with three power plays and two man advantage situations in the game's first five minutes. The Wings had the first 14 shots on goal and outshot Dallas in the first period, 19-6.

COLORADO

What was expected to be a fight-filled game turned into an offensive match as Peter Forsberg's goal with 40.7 seconds remaining lifted the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-3 win over the arch-rival Red Wings.

"It continued the rivalry. They're always good, intense games," said Detroit's Darren McCarty, whose two goals in a 46- second span tied the game 3-3 with 55.7 seconds remaining. "It's frustrating any time you lose a game on a goal in the final minute, but now the real season begins."

The Wings rested four of its top six scorers, takes a three-game losing streak into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Phoenix will be the playoff matchup. Doug Brown scored the other Detroit goal. Kevin Hodson finished with 17 saves in place of Chris Osgood and lost for the first time in eight starts.

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