The Detroit Red Wings let the opportunity to close out the Phoenix Coyotes slip through their grasp in Game 6.
They didn’t repeat the mistake in Game 7.
The 2009 Stanley Cup runners-up overwhelmed the hosts, advancing to the second round with a 6-1 win. Pavel Datsyuk found the back of the net twice in less than two minutes in a second-period outburst to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Detroit scored four unanswered after Phoenix closed the game to 2-1. Nicklas Lindstrom accounted for two of the tallies, scoring twice on the power play. Jimmy Howard was excellent in net, earning the victory by making 32 saves on 33 shots.
The Red Wings face the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the second round.
Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 3:06 pm by Raj Sethi
The Phoenix Coyotes avoided elimination on Sunday, overwhelming the host Detroit Red Wings to force Game 7 with a 5-2 win. The series heads back to Phoenix for the deciding game on Tuesday night.
The Coyotes got off to a great start, scoring short-handed four minutes into the game. But the second period was the decisive one in this contest; Phoenix tallied three goals in the frame, shocking a Detroit team that had dictated pace and peppered shots at will to no avail. The Coyotes eventually built a 5-1 advantage before surrendering a goal late in the game.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves for Phoenix, which also got goals from five different players. Lori Korpikoski, Mathieu Schneider, Radim Vrbata, Wojtek Wolski and Taylor Pratt all found the back of the net.
Brad Stuart and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, but the Coyotes offense made life difficult for the young netminder with their opportunistic play.
Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 4:38 pm by Raj Sethi
