By David Bailey
DETROIT (Reuters) - Johan Franzen took on the kind of burden his nickname would suggest as 'The Mule' almost single-handedly ensured that the Detroit Red Wings would live to fight another day in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Franzen scored four goals and added two assists on Thursday to lead a 7-1 rout of the San Jose Sharks, setting a franchise record for most points in a playoff game as the Red Wings reduced the deficit to 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Swede recorded a hat-trick across a three-minute 26 second span in the opening period, the second fastest in Stanley Cup playoff history behind the Philadelphia Flyers' Tim Kerr, who notched three goals in 2:24 in 1985.
The winger added his fourth goal in the third, when the result was already beyond doubt.
"We came out with a good push and Mule got hot at the right moment and scored some goals for us, but the whole team really responded well," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom told reporters.
"If you give him a little bit of time like tonight... he gets hot in a hurry," Lidstrom added of Franzen.
A prolific scorer, Franzen was key to the Red Wings' drive to the Stanley Cup championship in 2008 and the finals last year.
He missed 55 games with a knee injury this season, but scored nine goals and added 10 assists over the last 24 regular season games to help Detroit earn a playoff berth.
Before Thursday, however, Franzen had scored just two goals for the Red Wings in the playoffs this year.
MORE CONFIDENCE
The Red Wings still have a mountain to climb in the series down 3-1. Only twice in NHL playoff history has a team rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. The New York Islanders were the last team... in the 1970s.
"We came out like the desperate team we had to be," Lidstrom said, adding that "We know our team has to come out with that same desperation again."
Franzen said the win gave the Red Wings a little more confidence, but he was circumspect about his four-goal game, given the deep deficit in the series.
Franzen figured in the first four Detroit goals. Todd Bertuzzi deflected Franzen's wrist shot past San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov for the Red Wings first goal.
The big winger scored the next three goals building the Red Wings lead to 4-0 after little more than 11 minutes. He also added an assist in the second period
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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