For more on this pivotal Game 7, visit our Wings blog, Winging It In Motown, and our Coyotes blog, Five For Howling.
9:00 P.M., Game 7: Coyotes, Wings Battle To Stay Alive
(Sports Network) - The first Game 7 of this year's playoffs is on tap tonight in Glendale, as the Phoenix Coyotes host the Detroit Red Wings at Jobing.com Arena for the decisive battle of this Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The fifth-seeded Red Wings had a chance to end this best-of-seven set on home ice Sunday, but Phoenix notched a 5-2 victory in the Motor City to force tonight's Game 7.
“Our building will be crazy,” Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “Any time you can compete in a Game 7, that’s like the pinnacle right there. I’m sure our team will be charged up. Home-ice advantage is only good if it comes down to a Game 7. We’ve worked awful hard to get home ice.”
The Red Wings have not played a Game 7 on the road since 1991, when they lost to St. Louis in the conference quarterfinals. Detroit’s last victory in a road Game 7 came against Chicago in the opening round of the 1964 playoffs.
Detroit is 12-8 all-time in Game 7s, while the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise has lost all four times in this situation. The Coyotes last played a Game 7 against the Blues in the 1999 conference quarterfinals. Phoenix lost that contest 1-0 in overtime.
"We have a mentally strong group," said Red Wings forward Kris Draper. "We have a lot of leadership, a lot of experience, a lot of playoff games under our belt and now these are the experiences that we're going to draw from."
Phoenix had a superb 29-10-2 record on home ice during the regular season. The Red Wings were 19-14-8 on the road this year. Detroit is 2-1 at Jobing.com Arena in the series and the road club has won four out of six in this set..
The fourth-seeded Coyotes, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, are hoping to have captain Shane Doan back in the lineup tonight. The forward has missed the last three contests with an upper-body injury suffered in Game 3 and will be a game-time decision for tonight's crucial tilt. Doan led Phoenix with 55 points during the regular season and had a goal and an assist in this series before his injury.
“His will and desire to play is unquestioned, it’s his function to play (that is at issue),” Tippett said of his captain. “These aren’t exhibition games where you can come in and kind of tip-toe in. You’ve got to be all-in. We’ll have to be able to decide if he can get through that challenge.”
Mathieu Schneider, Radim Vrbata and Wojtek Wolski tallied during a second- period burst to lead the Coyotes to the big win Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.
Lauri Korpikoski and Taylor Pyatt also lit the lamp for the Coyotes, who went 3-for-6 on the power play after going a combined 0-for-18 on the man advantage in Games 2-5.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 31-of-33 shots for Phoenix, which also scored a short- handed goal on Sunday.
Brad Stuart and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings, while Jimmy Howard struggled in defeat, allowing all five goals on 29 shots.
Detroit last played a Game 7 in June, when it lost to Pittsburgh in the final contest of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings, who have won the last two Western Conference titles and claimed the Stanley Cup two years ago, haven’t been ousted in the opening round since losing to Edmonton in 2006.
Meanwhile, the Coyotes are trying to win their first postseason series since 1987, when the franchise was still located in Winnipeg. The Jets beat Calgary in the opening round that year before getting swept in the second round by Edmonton. The club is 0-5 in playoff series since moving to the desert.
Detroit and the Coyotes are meeting in the postseason for just the third time and first since Detroit eliminated Phoenix in six games in the 1998 conference quarterfinals. Detroit also finished off Winnipeg in six games of the opening round of the 1996 playoffs.
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