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Detroit Red Wings to host Phoenix Coyotes in first Playoff match without lead scorer Henrik Zetterberg –NHL Preview

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Detroit Red Wings to host Phoenix Coyotes in first Playoff match without lead scorer Henrik Zetterberg –NHL Preview
Detroit Red Wings, while making their 20th consecutive playoff’s appearance, is ready for anything that comes its way. It will host Phoenix Coyotes for the second consecutive time in the first round of the quarterfinals on Wednesday at the Joe
Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Having won four Stanley Cups since 1997, Red Wings is a seasoned team and by the looks of it, can take home another cup without anyone expecting it.
There are a few things that have changed since last year in which Detroit expelled Coyotes in the first round after a seven-game series.
Last year, Phoenix’s captain, Shane Doan, missed the remaining games after dislocating a shoulder in Game 3 and this time around, Detroit is missing its leading forward, Henrik Zetterberg.
They do have the home-ice advantage but will it be enough to eliminate the Coyotes once again?
It will be a highly thrilling match that will start at the same time as Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh’s match, at 7:00pm ET.
                                                   Detroit Red Wings
Near the end of the regulation season, Red Wings could not seem to hold themselves up. It lost a number of matches against teams like St. Louis in an embarrassing 10-3 slump which continued until San Jose threw it out of second place and into the third.
Since Zetterberg is out for an unknown number of games, Detroit’s goalie, Jimmy Howard, is feeling much pressure.
Howard would be a key factor to help his team win. He has won 37 games this season with a .908 save percentage.
"We have a lot of confidence in Howie", defenseman, Nicklas Lidstrom, said. "He's been playing well for us".
Detroit Red Wings will have to play Howard until he burns out since its backup goalie, Chris Osgood, is placed on injury list with a groin injury.
Joey MacDonald is playing as a replacement for Osgood, but in terms of playoffs, it might be a bad choice.
                                                  Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix might not have had a perfect season, but it did have some major winning streaks throughout the season. Coyotes had the luck of rebuilding the team before entering the postseason after securing a playoff berth earlier than most teams.
Defensemen, Ed Jovanovski and Martin Hanzal, return to the line-up to add that much needed defence while captain, Shane Doan, has worked hard to keep himself healthy, unlike last year.
In light of Detroit having Jimmy Howard, Phoenix has a monster up its sleeve as well.
Ilya Bryzgalov has been a secret weapon for Coyotes since the start of the season and Coyotes plan on using him throughout the playoffs to get back at Detroit for ruining their 107 franchise history making point’s season.
"Bryz is probably the best player in the series", Doan said regarding his fellow goalie. "I think he's unbelievable and the most talented goalie in the league, as good as anybody. We're going to count on him huge, just as they are with Howard”.
According to Bryzgalov, he’s been preparing for this moment for a long time now, especially the pressure games in the last have helped him cope with all the tension he will face now.
The opening performance shown by both teams will be the most important as it will set a standard for the next games in the upcoming days.

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