Coyotes 3 - 4 Red Wings
Final
  for this game

Red Wings shoot for 2-0 lead against Coyotes

Apr 16, 2011 - 3:31 PM (Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings will aim for a 2-0 series lead when they host the Phoenix Coyotes today at Joe Louis Arena for Game 2 of the best- of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Red Wings, who won the Central Division for the ninth time in 10 seasons this year, recorded a 4-2 victory over the visiting Coyotes in Wednesday's Game 1 in the Motor City to grab the early advantage in the series.

Johan Franzen picked up a goal and one assist and Detroit used a three-goal second period to down Phoenix in the opener. For Franzen, it marked his 13th straight playoff game with a point.

"Good for him and good for us," said Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock about Franzen. "With him getting a goal and seeing his line get a couple, it was a definite positive to the outcome."

Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler and Brian Rafalski also tallied for the Red Wings, while Jimmy Howard stopped 26 shots. It marked the 54th straight time Detroit has won a playoff game when scoring four or more goals.

Detroit won Game 1 despite not having leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. Zetterberg, who led Detroit with 80 points during the regular season, is dealing with a lower body injury and he is expected to miss today's game as well.

Kyle Turris and Radim Vrbata scored in Game 1 for the Coyotes, who fell behind in the set despite 32 stops from Ilya Bryzgalov. Phoenix went 0-for-6 on the power play in the loss.

"We fell behind after taking that lead with the initial burst. It could have been the difference in the game. We needed better execution, especially in the first period," said Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett about the wealth of power- play chances the club failed to convert early on after scoring the game's first goal.

Phoenix defenseman Derek Morris missed Game 1 with an upper body injury and is questionable for today.

This series is a rematch of a first-round matchup from last season. Detroit won that set by taking Game 7 on the road.

The sixth-seeded Coyotes have never won a postseason series since moving to Phoenix from Winnipeg. Phoenix has lost 17th times in its 19 all-time playoff series dating back to the franchise's days as the Jets. The club hasn't won a postseason series since Winnipeg bested Calgary in 1987 .

Similar to last year's playoff meeting, the 2010-11 season series was a tight matchup with each team winning twice. However, both of Detroit's victories came past regulation, while Phoenix also won a shootout over the Red Wings.

Detroit has won all three of its playoff meetings against the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise.

This series will shift to the desert for Games 3 and 4 and the Coyotes will host the next test on Monday. The Red Wings were 21-14-6 on home ice this year, while Phoenix was 22-13-6 as the guest.






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