Johan Franzen scored a goal and was generally Detroit's top offensive player as the Red Wings nipped the Predators 3-2 in Nashville Friday night and tied their series at 1-1. Franzen notched his first goal of the post-season, as did teammates Ian White and Cory Emmerton. Emmerton's goal, unassisted, was a beauty as he fired a perfect shot from the left wing past Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne. White's opening goal was assisted by Tomas Holmstrom and Drew Miller while Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Stuart assisted on Franzen's goal. All Detroit players who contribute Friday night notched their first points of this series.

Johan Franzen's play against the physical Nashville Predators will be key to the Detroit Red Wings' success. Against a team with the size of Nashville, Franzen and his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame will have to use his size at the front of the net to score goals and create traffic. He has been a big playoff performer before, with 37 goals and 72 points in 83 games, and could be a difference maker for Detroit. "Him in particular,"Niklas Kronwall said, "when he gets in the mood, he's really, really hard to stop. He uses his body so well. At the same time, he's got great hands, great vision. And it's tough to play someone with all those elements together."

Johan Franzen netted an unassisted goal in Detroit's 3-2 loss to Chicago on Saturday. Pavel Datsyuk netted his 19th goal of the season. Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterber each registered an assist in the losing effort.

Johan Franzen scored two goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2, shootout victory against the Blues in St. Louis Wednesday night. The Blues led 2-0 before Franzen recorded his 27th and 28th goals of the season. All four goals were produced in the first period. The Red Wings also got two points apiece from Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi, all assists.

Johan Franzen will return to the lineup Wednesday when the Red Wings travel to Columbus. He has missed the last four games with back spasms. Detroit has six games remaining giving Franzen an opportunity to get in top shape for the postseason. To say the 32-year-old Swede has gotten the most out of his goals is an understatement. While he leads the team in goals with 26, it is notable that 11 of them have come with the man advantage and 10 are of the game-winning variety. The latter figure is tied for league lead.

Johan Franzen is hoping to return at some point this week from back spasms, but it won't be on Monday night. He has participated in lengthy workouts on the ice for three consecutive days now and should be able to play on Wednesday or Friday. Franzen will miss his fifth straight game Monday.

Johan Franzen (back spasms) only skated briefly on Tuesday. "I tried (skating) for a few minutes but I didn't feel it was ready," Franzen said. "It's getting there. You're always hoping it would go faster (but) I'm not going to rush it." Franzen hasn't played since March 14 and it's not clear when he'll return.

The Detroit Red Wings' Johan Franzen ((back spasms) didn't skate Monday but felt significantly better. Franzen missed his second consecutive game Monday. "Things are going in the right direction," said Franzen, who expects to resume skating later this week. "I don't have a clue how it's going to feel skating."

Johan Franzen is now out indefinitely with a bad back. The Red Wings top goal scorer with 26 missed Saturday's game and his return is apparently not imminent. We suggest reserving him at this time.

Johan Franzen (back spasms) didn't participate in Detroit's Saturday morning skate. Franzen will not be available for Saturday's contest. He has 26 goals and 53 points in 71 contests in 2011-12.