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Red Wings jump on Coyotes early

Dec 9, 2011 - 4:13 AM Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Five different Red Wings found the back of the net during a dominant first period, as Detroit skated past the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-2, at Joe Louis Arena.

Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler each finished with a goal and an assist, Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi and Darren Helm scored, while Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg ended with two assists apiece for the Red Wings, who have won eight straight games at home.

Jimmy Howard made 30 saves to earn the win.

Radim Vrbata and Martin Hanzal scored for the Coyotes, who had their two-game winning streak halted.

Mike Smith was tagged for four goals on 11 shots before being pulled in favor of Jason LaBarbera, who made 20 saves on 21 shots.

The Red Wings came out of the gate with a dominant first period.

The first Wings goal came just 1:16 into the first stanza when Datsyuk collected a loose puck along the goal line to the left of the net and slid it to Bertuzzi, who flipped it through the legs of Smith for the 1-0 lead.

The Wings made it 2-0 just 53 seconds later when Zetterberg picked up the push behind the net, fended off a Phoenix defender and backhanded one into the slot for Filppula, who wristed it into the gaping cage.

Detroit struck again on the power play at 14:46 when Datsuyk slid a pass from the left point to a cutting Ian White in the slot. White made one move and flipped a shot on net that was stopped by Smith, but Holmstrom was there on the doorstep to jam home the rebound, giving the Wings a 3-0 advantage.

The Wings made it 4-0 at 15:29 when Helm picked up the puck on the right He then shoveled a soft shot on net from below the goal line that got through Smith.

Smith was pulled after the fourth tally in favor of LaBarbera, who didn't fare much better. The Wings capped a dominant first period when Zetterberg picked up a loose puck in the slot and slid it over to Hudler, who one-timed it past an outstretched LaBarbera from the right circle with just 42 seconds left to extend the lead to 5-0.

After getting completely outclassed in the first period, Phoenix finally responded at 15:15 of the second when Vrbata picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and flew down the right wing into the offensive zone before unleashing a slap shot high over the shoulder of Howard to make it 5-1.

The Coyotes added a power-play goal at 11:32 of the final period when Ray Whitney found Shane Doan, who wristed the puck on goal. It was deflected past Howard by Hanzal in front to make it 5-2, but the Red Wings held on for the win.

Game Notes

Thursday's game marked the first meeting between the teams since Detroit eliminated Phoenix in four games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals last spring...Howard has allowed two-or fewer goals in 18 of 23 starts this season...Both teams went 1-for-5 with the man advantage.