Johan Franzen is an absolute beast. He became only the third player in NHL history to score 5 goals in the first two games of a playoff series and finished with and NHL record 9 goals, including two hat tricks, in the four games it took Detroit to sweep Colorado. The Wings lit up the Avalanche on the scoreboard scoring 21 total goals, four more than they scored in six games against Nashville. Jose Theodore was pulled in three of the four games, only to be renamed the starter every time. I’m not quite sure what coach Joel Quenneville was thinking because Peter Budaj played better every time (except game 4, he allowed 5 goals to Theodore's 3). Colorado also had many injuries, missing Smyth, Forsberg, and Stastny for many of the games. Nevertheless, a Detroit-Colorado series ended in a sweep for the first time in the teams’ history.Kicking it off in game 1 in Detroit was Paul Stastny. He scored for in the game for Colorado, extending their streak of scoring first to seven consecutive games. However, Detroit was quick to answer. Henrik Zetterberg scored less than a minute later to tie the game for the Red Wings. Daniel Cleary and Johan Franzen also added goals of their own before the end of the first period to give Detroit a 3-1 lead. Franzen scored again just 1:13 into the second period and the Red Wings looked to be rolling, but Colorado did not go away. John-Michael Liles put the Aves within two 5:17 into the period, and Milan Hejduk found the back of the net of the net with three and half minutes left in the period to cut the lead to one. The game was 4-3 heading into the third, and although Colorado outplayed Detroit, Chris Osgood stood strong in net and made the game saving stop with seven second left. The Red Wings won game 1 4-3.
The Mule, Franzen, struck first in game 2, again on the power play, 4:22 into the first period. Detroit continued their dominance over the Aves out shooting them 10-4 and took a 1-0 lead into the second period. After another Franzen power play goal, a goal from Filppula 5:42 into the period and a Zetterberg goal at the 10:11 mark, Colorado began to fall completely apart. Midway through the period, the Avalanche took six consecutive penalties in a time span of only five minutes and thirty-two seconds. Though the Wings out shot the Aves 22-6, they would score no more goals in the period. Each team scored in the third period, including Franzen shorthanded for the hat trick, and the game ended in a 5-1 Red Wings win.
Colorado would play its best game of the series in game 3. Cody McLeod electrified the crowd 5:17 into the first period on a goal from Hensick and Arnason. Detroit would respond later in the period as Datsyuk and Franzen struck just 58 seconds apart with about six minutes to go in the period. Datsyuk scored again, his 5th of the playoffs 6:36 into the second period to give Detroit a 3-1 lead. The teams then traded power play goals and headed to the third in a 4-2 Red Wings lead. Andrew Brunette would make things interesting, scoring a goal 5:19 into the third, but again Chris Osgood was the Red Wings best player and held on for another 4-3 victory.
Remember the 7-0 beat down Detroit gave Colorado in game 7 of their series in 2002? This game was similar, only in Denver, and the Aves actually scored. Mikael Samuelsson scored just 4:33 into the game, but Colorado came back to scored a minute and half later. The Red Wings then took over the period, out shooting the Aves 15-5 and scoring a pair of goal in 47 seconds to take a 3-1 lead into the second period. There, it only got worse. Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of goals followed by two more from Johan Franzen, giving him the hat trick and NHL record 9 goals in a four game series. Datsyuk and Lidstrom each racked up two assists in the middle period as well. Mikael Samuelsson added another goal in the third period and Colorado scored again for their final goal of the game. Although the Aves controlled the play for the final seven to ten minutes, Detroit skated away with an 8-2 win, sweeping the Avalanche in four games. 
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