Red Wings sweep Coyotes in Phoenix, advance to the second round

GLENDALE, Arizona — the Detroit Red Wings used his reserve and resolve Wednesday night to sweep the Phoenix Coyotes out of the first round of the playoffs. By Pat Shannahan, AP

Detroit Red Wings Kris Draper, left, Patrick Eaves, half and Darren Helm celebrate a first period against the Phoenix Coyotes in game 4 of their playoff series of the first lap in Glendale, Arizona

By Pat Shannahan, AP

Detroit Red Wings Kris Draper, left, Patrick Eaves, half and Darren Helm celebrate a first period against the Phoenix Coyotes in game 4 of their playoff series of the first lap in Glendale, Arizona

With both Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen sidelined by injuries, the wings perfectly inserted Mike Modano in the lineup for the first time in the series. He helped in the first goal as the wings delivered a 6-3 victory in the Jobing.com Arena to become the first team to advance in NHL playoffs 2011. "We knew they were going to come out with a strong effort and his best game, and I thought they did too, '' Red Wings Captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "But we really wanted to win tonight and don't have to go back and a fifth game in Detroit. We put in a great position in the third period by being tied up in the game and they have the pressure to win tonight. We were patient, stayed with our game plan. "Danny Cleary wrapped round with his first goal of the series, doubling the puck in off Ilya Bryzgalov back with 6: 19 left in regulation to give Detroit a 4-3 advantage. Cleary also had two assists.We talked about it, Bryz likes to leave his post too, "said Cleary. "I had time in the corner, I looked and saw that he was cheating a bit, so I just deposited out of it. It was a great game for us, great victory ". Two minutes later, Todd rivalry with Eric Belanger ago outworked in net to come ahead and smack the puck in off David Schlemko. Patrick eaves if scored into an empty net with 35.2 seconds to get a game that saw the Coyotes threaten early but the wings take afternoon. "He is pretty gut-wrenching, "said Phoenix coach Dave Tippett. "That is not so you'd like to see things end. I think it's better all takes a step back for a day and let's talk about this in a couple of days. It is disappointing. That being said Detroit played very well, they were the better team and they won. "

Red Wings sweep series

Game 1: Detroit 4, Phoenix 2

Game 2: Detroit 4, Phoenix 3

Game 3: Detroit4, Phoenix 2

Game 4: Detroit 6, Phoenix 3

The wings are not like start the second phase before the end of next week, when coach Mike Babcock said both Zetterberg (knee) and Franzen (ankle) will be ready to play. The rest of the guys will take a break, too. "I think we have some guys who really could use the extra time and extra time off with doctors and trainers, "said forward Drew Miller. "Definitely we are really happy with our winning the series here."The first round showed how well the wings are capable of plugging holes even large as 13 players scored and 16 of 19 skaters returned home with at least one point. From Pavel Datsyuk dazzling with a no-look pass to Darren Helm making huge hits to receive contributions of each row and all defensive pairings, along with solid goaltending from Jimmy Howard, they simply dominated the Coyotes. Lidstrom "I think it just shows the depth that we have and not have to rely on a couple of guys to mark all the time," he said. "That makes it more difficult to play against us, makes it harder to match against us." Datsyuk contributed its sixth point of the series when he rode Tomas Holmstrom four minutes into the game Wednesday. The Coyotes came back with two goals misappropriated, Taylor Pyatt and Shane Doan, in his first lead since the first goal of the series. The wings just kept working. "Do not lose our composure, "said rivalry with. "They came back at us a few times and has some great goals. I thought we really stayed with him — great discipline and really patient and I think it was worth it. "Bryzgalov made a great rivalry with the defense when he tried to tip a pass from Niklas Kronwall at the end of the first period, but the fourth line wings, delivered the tying goal with just over a minute to play in the period when Helm hit the puck off Keith Yandle with an overwhelming success andthen took the puck forward and shook him in net to eaves. "I would like to finish my checks, and I saw a great opportunity to get a hit in Yandle," Helm said. "Puck was lying there and I was able to come around the net and find Patty, back-door." Martin Hanzal and Niklas Kronwall traded power play goals early in the second period to set up an exciting and rewarding period end. Babcock "Was a good series for us," he said. "Any time you can win four straight, obviously, is a positive thing."— Detroit Free Press is owned by Gannett, Publisher of USA TODAYFor more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ. To report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines of the conversation. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation of how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.