The heavily favored Red Wings enter their Western Conference semifinal series against the Blues with all guns blazing after storming back from an 2-0 deficit against the Canucks in the first round.

Two things keyed Detroit's comeback.

First, some sharp lineup adjustments from master coach Scotty Bowman. In Game 3 vs. the Canucks, Bowman gave banged up Steve Yzerman some offensive support by adding center Sergei Fedorov and left winger Brendan Shanahan to his line. Then, Bowman re-united his checking line of center Kris Draper, left winger Kirk Maltby and right winger Darren McCarty, who were extremely effective on almost every shift. (Just ask Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi, who was "wearing" one or two of them for the final four games of the series.)

On defense, Bowman scratched the ineffective Uwe Krupp and reunited regular-season pairs, Chris Chelios and Jiri Fischer, and Nicklas Lidstrom and Fredrik Olausson. Bowman had scratched Olausson in the first two games. The move brought some stability to the back line.

The second key for the Wings was the meltdown of inexperienced Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier, who never regained his composure after allowing Lidstrom to beat him with a slap shot from the red line late in the second period of Game 3.

That brings us to the Blues, who will be backstopped by an equally inexperienced goalie, Brent Johnson.

The 25-year-old Johnson was superb in the Blues' first-round series win over the Blackhawks. After dropping the first game, Johnson posted three consecutive shutouts as St. Louis closed out Chicago in five games.

Against Detroit, Johnson faces a much more dangerous foe. And he'll go head-to-head with a legendary netminder -- Dominik Hasek -- at the other end of the rink. Before the Blues can even consider an upset, Johnson will have to stay cool under fire. If he gives up a bad goal (and every goalie does at some point), he must shake it off quickly and re-focus on the task at hand.

Against Chicago, Blues coach Joel Quenneville received contributions from all four lines. Again, he'll need nothing less to stop the ultra-talented Wings.

Quenneville likely will match his checking line of left winger Tyson Nash, center Mike Eastwood and right winger Shjon Podein against the Shanahan-Fedorov-Yzerman line. But, he'll have to be quick to adjust on the fly, if Bowman reshuffles his stacked deck during the series.

On the flip side, the Blues' top line of left winger Keith Tkachuk, center Pavol Demitra and right winger Scott Mellanby will likely see a lot of the Draper line, especially in the first two games of the series when the Wings have the last change.

You can expect the Wings -- especially guys like Chelios, Maltby, McCarty and Draper -- to chip and chirp at Tkachuk and defenseman Chris Pronger throughout the series. Both star players have been known to lose focus at key moments. Because of that, it will be imperative that both Tkachuk and Pronger initiate, rather than retaliate.

The Blues would also benefit from a solid effort from the second unit of left winger Cory Stillman, center Doug Weight and right winger Scott Young. They must contribute some goals to take the pressure off the top line.

In the end, Johnson will be the key. If the Michigan native can stay sharp and focused, the Blues could pull the upset. But, after avoiding first round disaster, the Wings seem ready to roll. If that's the case, every one else is playing for second place.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.