Red Wings 4, Coyotes 3
Pavel Datsyuk recorded a goal and three assists and the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings withstood a spirited comeback attempt by the Phoenix Coyotes to post a 4-3 home victory Saturday afternoon and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Tomas Holmstrom notched a goal and an assist, defenseman Brian Rafalski and Darren Helm also scored and Jimmy Howard made 30 saves for the Red Wings, who went 2-for-4 on the power play in the first period.
Captain Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata and blue-liner Keith Yandle combined for nine points while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 27 shots for the Coyotes, who host Game 3 on Monday.
Detroit took advantage of an undisciplined Phoenix team with three goals in the latter half of the opening period. Datsyuk began the barrage with a wrist shot from the top of the slot that beat a screened Bryzgalov during a power play at 10:42.
Rafalski converted another man-advantage opportunity 5:08 later and Helm buried a rebound with 59 seconds remaining for a 3-0 cushion. Holmstrom deflected a shot by Valtteri Filppula past Bryzgalov 70 seconds into the second period for what appeared to be a commanding four-goal cushion.
But the Coyotes used their power play to get back into the game and put a scare into the raucous crowd at Joe Louis Arena. Vrbata beat Howard from the left faceoff circle at 7:02 of the middle session and Doan scored goals 2:48 apart in the third, with the second coming with two seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 advantage.