New York, NY (WFAN)  -- There are some great story lines developing in the playoffs. Here they are and the analysis of what's beyond the headlines.

OSGOOD vs RIBERO: Can't say what happened at the end of game two was a bad thing when Chris Osgood and Mike Ribero added some extra fire to this inferno. Osgood, as time expired, very discreetly clipped Ribero of Dallas in the face as he passed the Detroit net. Ribero reacted by two handing Osgood with enough force to get his attention but hardly enough or in a location that should have send him reeling.

Osgood, who now has won eight straight for the Wings, claims if he did get Ribero it was an accident. Yeah right. Ribero says he'd never have had that reaction if something didn't provoke him. Maybe, but emotions were running high and he could have reacted to Osgood saying something to him as opposed to butt ending him.

The NHL had a decision to make regarding suspensions. Here is the problem. It wasn't Steve Ott and Kirk Maltby involved. It was two pretty good players, and in the case of Osgood, you have one of the playoffs best stories involved. What to do?

The NHL should be proud of itself today. It did nothing. The players involved were fined. Ok, big deal. The message is clear that Ribero gets to face the music in game three as he'll be on the ice as opposed to in the press box watching the storm brew. Osgood likewise gets to face the music for his actions and my feeling is that someone from the Stars will hit him pretty early.

Bottom line is that probably nothing happens that overtly but despite what both teams are saying, emotions run a whole lot higher on ice at puck drop than they do in an interview room after practice. The Stars have to forget about Texas style justice and win a hockey game. The Wings are 60 minutes away from just about making an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals a foregone conclusion because neither Dallas nor anyone is winning four straight from Detroit this post season except maybe the 1942 Maple Leafs (who did just that).

Dallas brought a much more physical game on Saturday night then they did in game one but they are trying to overcome the loss of some key players, starting with Jere Lehtinen. That's a big loss. Detroit played without their big hero Johan Franzen who has been a goal scoring terror this post season. Bottom line is Osgood has needed to be good but not steal a game, much like his situation 10 years ago when he led the Wings to the Stanley Cup with a sweep over Washington. He'll be tested in Dallas as the Stars are a great home team. Smart money says the teams split in Dallas and not much happens in the aftermath of Ribero vs Osgood unless one team blows the other out of game three.

PENGUINS UP 2-0 ON THE FLYERS: Didn't see this coming but the Flyers are becoming a M.A.S.H. unit. First the lose their best player in Kimmo Timonen and then their other stud defenseman Braydon Coburn gets ko'ed early in game two with a facial injury from a deflected shot. The Penguins made the Flyers face the quote most immortalized by Vince Lombardi when he said "fatigue makes cowards out of all of us." They Flyers defense looked gassed and a major reason is that guys who play 20 minutes were playing 25-28 and their work to rest ratio was significantly higher than it normally is. That takes its toll in a physical game at this time of year.

The other problem is the line of Hossa-Malkin-Sykora has been so good. They might be better than Crosby's line right now and Crosby's trio has been pretty impressive. The Flyers are good, the Penguins are deeper and that has shown in the past two games. Pittsburgh has asked for contributions away from the star group they have and they have gotten it in the likes of Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill, Maxim Talbot, and Gary Roberts.

Make no mistake, despite going home the Flyers are in as much trouble as Dallas is. While both 0-2 teams have played almost even with their hosts, neither has had the answer to get past the problems they are facing, and injuries are a part of that for sure.

BTW-Where has R.J. Umberger gone. He needs a huge game three because it is so obvious how much they rely on his skill and his energy.

CONN SMYTHE BALLOTS YET?: Way too early now but here are five guys who could be Conn Smythe candidates. Johan Franzen, Nik Lidstrom, Evgeny Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fluery.