Jack Dempsey / AP

Detroit's Johan Franzen, shown celebrating his third goal in a game against Colorado and goalie Peter Budaj in the Western Conference semifinals.

Franzen got used to adjusting to the expectations suddenly being placed upon him, because they are in fact the same expectations he places upon himself.

"It feels like when I'm out there I want to score and try to get to the front of the net and get rebounds," Franzen said. "You feel you've scored before, so you can do it."

Though he’d registered only 22 goals through his first two NHL seasons, closer scrutiny of his stats reveals that clutch and Franzen have been synonymous before.

Last spring, he scored his first Stanley Cup overtime winner, eliminating the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of Detroit’s first-round series at the Pengrowth Saddledome. This spring, he added a second OT winner, beating Nashville  in Game 5 of the opening round.

During the preseason, Franzen offered a glimpse of what was to come, scoring a team-leading five times while skating on a line with Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.

"It (confidence) started there, playing with Pavel and Holmer," Franzen said.

That he took center stage early in the playoffs is even more startling once you learn that Franzen wasn’t even selected in the NHL entry draft until the age of 24, unearthed by Hakan Andersson, Detroit’s European super scout. The vast majority of players are drafted at 18.

"He was a late bloomer," Lidstrom said. "Hakan Andersson did a good job finding him somewhere in Sweden."

Starting in a defensive role, Franzen displayed NHL skating ability and soon showed he possessed the hands to bury chances and the courage to take the punishment required to score from close range.

The Wings see that sort of determination from Franzen on a daily basis.

"Stubbornness, I'd say," Lidstrom suggested as Franzen's best quality.

"He's very good at using his body. He's good at using his size. It's tough to take the puck away from him."

That stubbornness and strength serves Franzen well and earned him the nickname Mule from former Wings captain Steve Yzerman. Franzen wasn't too keen on the handle initially, but it has grown on him.

The Swedish word for mule, by the way, is mula.

The Swedish word for sniper?

It could be Franzen.

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