Coyotes beat Red Wings to force Game 7 in Phoenix on Tuesday
DETROIT - The Phoenix Coyotes were at their best when they were up or down a skater, or two, and that helped them survive for at least one more game.
Phoenix scored its first three goals on special teams and Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves in a 5-2 win over the Red Wings yesterday that forced Game 7 in the Western Conference first-round series.
"They won the special-teams battle," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "That sucked the life out of our team."
Phoenix will host the final game against Detroit Tuesday night.
"Any time you can play in a Game 7, it's a game you'll remember," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.
The Red Wings would love to forget how yesterday started. The Coyotes were called for three penalties in the first 4:42 - including a pair that put them down two skaters for 1:09 - but they were the only team to score in the opening period.
Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart nonchalantly carried the puck out of his end, and Lauri Korpikoski snatched it and scored a shorthanded goal 4:10 in to spark the win.
"My fault," Stuart said.
Mathieu Schneider snapped the Coyotes' 0-for-19 skid on the power play with a goal early in the second for a 2-0 lead, and Radim Vrbata scored with the man advantage midway through the period to restore the two-goal edge.
"I don't want to say we solved it," Schneider said. "It worked for tonight."
Wojtek Wolski's even-strength goal put Phoenix ahead 4-1 late in the second. Detroit's Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, but he gave up at least four goals for the third time in the series. He allowed only one the previous two games as Detroit took a 3-2 lead. A finalist for the Calder Trophy - given to the NHL's top rookie - Howard is about to play in his first win-or-go-home game in the NHL.
"No, I'm not concerned about him at all," Babcock said. "We're real comfortable with Howie. You can't win Game 7 until you get there."
The Coyotes went ahead 1-0 on their first shot and beat Howard four more times. "They got lucky," Howard said. "We hit a couple posts."
Detroit started these playoffs without home-ice advantage for the first time since 1991, when it lost Game 7 at St. Louis in the first round. The Red Wings haven't won a Game 7 on the road since a 1964 victory at Chicago in the opening round.
The Red Wings missed opportunities, going 0-for-5 on the power play, and couldn't slow down the Coyotes, who were 3-for-6 with a man advantage.
The Coyotes, in the postseason for the first time since 2002, are 0-5 in the first round of the playoffs. The franchise hasn't advanced since 1987, when it was the Winnipeg Jets.
Tippett said captain Shane Doan is close to being able to play. Doan missed his third straight game Sunday because of what looked like a shoulder injury he suffered in Game 3.
