| #4 Phoenix Coyotes (50-25-7, 107 pts) | Game 1 | #5 Detroit Red Wings (44-24-14, 102 pts) | |||
| vs. |  | ||||
| Arena: Jobing.com--Phoenix, AZ | |||||
| Starting goalie: | Ilya Bryzgalov | Starting goalie: | Jimmy Howard |
| 42-20-6, 2.29 GAA | 37-15-10, 2.26 GAA | ||
| SBN Blog: | Five For Howling | Series record: | 0-0 |
| Time: | 10:00 p.m. ET | TV: | Versus and FS-D (location dependent) |
It's that time folks. Playoff hockey is here as the 5th seeded Red Wings head into Phoenix to play the opening game of the Western Conference quarterfinals. The Phoenix crowd plans to have a "white out" but hopefully there are a multitude of Wings fans in attendance to spoil the effect. But aside from the crowd, it comes down to business on the ice more importantly. The Red Wings are one of the hottest teams in the NHL at the moment and are capable of making a deep run in the playoffs. In their way? The surprise success story that is the Phoenix Coyotes. After finishing near the bottom of the league last year and going through the well documented summer ownership struggles, the Coyotes have put all that aside and emerged as the 4th seed in the West. With Ilya Bryzgalov in net and a solid defense led by Zbynek Michalek, the Coyotes play a tight game that the Red Wings will need to adjust to.
Puck drops at 10:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on VERSUS or FS-D, depending on location. Comment away below and GO WINGS!