Red Wings 6, Coyotes 3
Dan Cleary snapped a tie with 6:19 remaining in the third period and the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings went on to post a 6-3 road victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday, completing a sweep of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
After receiving a pass from Valtteri Filppula along the left wing boards, Cleary banked a shot from the corner off Ilya Bryzgalov's right pad and into the net for his 19th career playoff goal and first of the series.
Todd Bertuzzi created breathing room less than two minutes later and Patrick Eaves scored his second of the night into an empty net in the final minute as the Red Wings became the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Tomas Holmstrom and defenseman Niklas Kronwall also scored, Cleary and Filppula each had two assists and Jimmy Howard made 24 saves for Detroit, which has won 57 straight playoff games when scoring at least four goals.
Taylor Pyatt, captain Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal tallied while Bryzgalov stopped 34 shots for the Coyotes, who as a franchise have lost 13 consecutive postseason series.
The Coyotes spent a few minutes saluting the fans after what may have been the final NHL game played in Phoenix. The future of the franchise remains uncertain amid rumblings the team may be relocated to Winnipeg in the offseason.
With Johan Franzen scratched due to ankle and head injuries, Detroit got off to a good start, jumping out to a 1-0 lead when Holmstrom beat Bryzgalov from the left hash marks 3:47 into the contest.
Phoenix pulled even two minutes later as Pyatt's pass attempt from the left faceoff circle caromed off Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson's skate and past Howard for the Coyotes' first even-strength goal since Game 1. Doan scored on another deflection at 9:45 for a 2-1 edge, but Darren Helm forced a turnover behind the net and set up Eaves with 73 seconds remaining for the tying score.
Hanzal converted a power-play chance 69 seconds into the middle session for his first career playoff goal and a 3-2 Phoenix lead. Detroit answered 3:40 later as Kronwall beat Bryzgalov high to the glove side during a man advantage.