Niedermayer returns, final swansong?

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Scott Niedermayer is back for another season, and this time maybe his last in the NHL.

“If I had to place a guess, I would say yes,” the Anaheim Ducks star said Thursday after announcing his return. “I’ve been wrong before, I guess, in my thinking.

“But if I had to make a decision on that now, I would say this will probably be it.”

The Ducks will take next season and call it a win. They are thrilled to get the star blue-liner back into their fold.

Kelley: Cup Final all but over

DETROIT - Really, can you see it ending anywhere but here in Detroit?

OK, maybe not tonight (though that’s more than likely), but even if the Pittsburgh Penguins survive to play another game in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final there is a creeping sense of inevitability about who the best team is now that the series has returned to Motown with the Detroit Red Wings holding a commanding 3-1 lead.

NHL’s dream Final a dud so far

So far, it’s been a one-sided dud, with Detroit delivering two dominating and defensive-driven victories and the Penguins delivering … well, mostly empty promises and some late-game punches that illustrate the growing frustration of a good young team that is playing badly.

Wings headed back to Stanley Cup final

DALLAS — So much for the demise of the Detroit Red Wings. Not only are they headed back to the Stanley Cup final, they’re again looking like the club that dominated the regular season and most of the playoffs.

After consecutive losses hinted at vulnerability, the Red Wings bounced back strong in Game 6 of the Western Conference final, getting first-period goals from Kris Draper, Pavel Datsyuk and Dallas Drake on their way to knocking out the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Monday night.

Wings one win away from trip to final

DALLAS — This is how ridiculously good the Detroit Red Wings are playing: They lose the NHL’s top scorer this post-season and their regular-season scoring leader steps up with the first hat trick of his entire career while one of his linemates scores a demoralizing short-handed goal.

Pavel Datsyuk scored twice in the first period and again with 2:41 left, and Henrik Zetterberg added two assists and the short-hander, sending Detroit past the Dallas Stars 5-2 Monday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Flyers’ Timonen likely out of East final

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Flyers all-star defenceman Kimmo Timonen will likely miss the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins because of a blood clot in his left ankle.