The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs return to the ice on Thursday night when the Dallas Stars and the Detroit Red Wings kick off the Western Conference final.

The Stars and Red Wings should be familiar with one another since they squared off four times during the regular season. The Wings won three of those games, including going a perfect 2-0 at home in Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit constantly filled the net in their second-round series with Colorado, outscoring the Avalanche 21-9 in four games. Johan Franzen was the big gun for Detroit with nine goals in the series.

Dallas got past San Jose thanks to solid defense and strong goaltending from Marty Turco. Turco made 61 saves in the Stars' Game 6 win and allowed more than two goals in only one game in the series. Over at Pinnacle sportsbook, the Red Wings opened as a -213 series favorite and a -191 favorite in the Game 1 betting line.

Meanwhile the Flyers and Penguins get the Eastern Conference final started on Friday night at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. The Flyers and Penguins locked horns a total of eight times during the regular season, and Philly edged out Pittsburgh with five wins. Notable about those wins was the fact that the Flyers were undefeated against the Penguins at home.

In the second round against Montreal, R.J. Umberger stepped up and now leads Philly with nine playoffs goals, while Martin Biron was a veritable wall in net allowing Philadelphia to dump Montreal in five games.

The Penguins' young offensive superstars maintained their high-scoring pace from the regular season, as both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby head to the final with 14 points. On the NHL odds, the Pens are a -206 series favorite and a -170 betting favorite in Game 1.