Three Stars, May 7

1. Johan Franzen: Red Wings: The Ducks started off as though they were going to spend the night kicking sand in the faces of the Wings until the Mule showed he had a little kick of his own. Franzen scored the equalizer midway through the first, then gave the Wings a lead with a brilliant behind-the-back tip-in the final minute of the period. He and linemates Marian Hossa and Valtteri Filppula spent the rest of the game dictating a pace the Ducks could not match.

2. Andrew Ladd, Blackhawks: With the 'Hawks trailing 1-0 and their season on the line if they lost Game 4 at home, Ladd and his line came to the rescue in dramatic fashion. He set up Martin Havlat's equalizer with just 2:44 left in regulation, then won the game -- and tied the series -- just 2:52 into overtime, deflecting Dave Bolland's blast behind Roberto Luongo.

3. Marian Hossa, Red Wings: Frustrated through the first three games of the series, Hossa broke open the contest with a pair of goals just three minutes apart in the second.