DETROIT -- The mystery of Johan Franzen continues. The explanations, if any, may come later.
Franzen, still leading the playoffs in goal scoring, having missed five games with severe headaches from post-concussion syndrome, has declared himself fit to play in the Stanley Cup final.
Now all he needs is a Red Wings doctor to agree.
Franzen, who suffers from migraines often, will see a specialist today with the hopes he will get medical clearance to jump back into the Wings lineup. Franzen skated with the Wings yesterday in his first full-out practice since being removed from the lineup after Game 1 against Dallas in the Western Conference final.
"He's flying around, going 100 miles an hour," said Wings coach Mike Babcock. "Looks like 100 bucks, no side effects. Looks to me like he's ready to play. But that's why I don't make those decisions."
The emergence of Franzen as a genuine scoring threat has been one of the truly surprising stories of this hockey season. "We were all enjoying the ride he was on," said Kris Draper, his teammate. "He was coming off maybe the greatest goal scoring series in history and then this happens?"
What exactly happened nobody knows. Franzen can't tell you how he was hurt or when. He has watched the game films of Round 2 of the playoffs looking for a hit, an indication of something that would have caused him a concussion, but he has found nothing.
In fact, he became so distressed in the Western Conference final by his constant headache and his inability to play that he basically disappeared for a few days.
"I needed some time," said the scorer who came from nowhere. "I was having the most fun I've ever had. I've kind of made peace with it now. When we played well, it made me feel better."
But clearly, Franzen is more interested in being a headache for Pittsburgh than he is in having one himself. With Franzen in the lineup, the Wings can almost match scoring lines with the Penguins.
Without him, the Pens have Sidney Crosby on one line, Evgeni Malkin centring another line. If the Wings play Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk together, they don't have a second line that offensively matches what Pittsburgh offers.
And Franzen knows this: With him in the lineup, the Wings are 9-and-2 in the playoffs. Without him, they are 3-and-2. "I want to be out there so bad," he said. "I'll be playing. I just don't know which game."
