Phoenix Coyotes vs Detroit Red Wings Game 2 of the 2010 Western Conference Quarter Finals Coyotes Lead the Series 1 – 0 Jobing.com Arena – Glendale, AZ Puck Drops at 7:00 PM AZ Time TV: FSN AZ (HD) (AZ Only) – Versus (US outside of AZ) – TSN (canada)Radio:550 KFYI

Game 2 of this best of seven series kicks off in a few hours at the Jobing.com arena where the Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings will do battle for that all important game 2 win.

Game 1 saw an initially tentative and nervous Coyotes team get introduced to playoff hockey. Do not expect more of the same tonight. With all the nervousness behind them and the adjustment of playing in front of a loud and boisterous Coyotes crowd, expect to see what we all have come to know from this team….Coyotes Hockey.

As for the Red Wings, do not expect this team to stand by without making adjustments to the what the Coyotes threw their way in Game 1. For example…..

According to the CBC last night during the Vancouver/Los Angeles Game, Justin Abdelkader will be in tonight for Jason Williams to address the lack of physical play in game 1.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will have done his homework and will more than likely have made multiple adjustments to their game plan heading into game 2. What those adjustments are we won’t find out until game 2 starts. (Stay tuned to our Twitter Feed during game 2for analysis of the Wings adjustments….among other things).

I expect both teams to come out with guns blazing in the opening minutes of the game in an attempt to establish a pace and dictate the flow of the game.

What will happen after that?

Well, that’s the fun of the playoffs….no one knows.

Cheat Sheet:

- Bryzgalov and Jimmy Howard are expected to be the starting goaltenders for the Coyotes and Red Wings respectively.

Things to watch for:

Aucoin/Holmstrom – It’s clear by now that Adrian Aucoin has drawn defensive duties in covering Tomas Holmstrom. Holmstrom was held to two shots on goal (one of which was a goal) but Aucoin did draw a penalty on Holmstrom sending both Aucoin and Holmstrom to the box. This is they type of penalties that are completely acceptable in a series like this if it means taking Holmstrom off the ice for any amount of time.

Detroit offense – Keep an eye on what kind of adjustments the Red Wings make to attempt to get their big offensive guns some more open ice in their offensive zone.

Coyotes offense – Keep an eye out to see how the Coyotes offensive game plan (power play included) works out in game 2. The Coyotes coaching staff shocked us with adding new dimensions to their offense in game 1. Let’s see what’s in store for game 2.

Keys to the game:

No stupid penalties – As coyotes fans saw in game 1 Vernon Fiddler took two uncharacteristically bad penalties putting an extremely talented Red Wings power play on the ice. Can’t have more of the same

Speed - Game 1 saw that by adding an element of speed, across the board, to the Coyotes game plan, they were able to essentially neutralize the Red Wings defensive scheme.

Keep up the good effort – Game 1 was understandably not the perfect game for the Coyotes. However, they proved one thing, that they have the tools, effort and desire to beat this Red Wings. They need to step up their efforts offensively and defensively from game 1 to come out on top in game 2.

Officials:

Referees #5 Chris Rooney; #14 Dennis LaRue
Linesmen #77 Tim Nowak; #86 Brad Lazarowich

Supervisor: Rob Shick

Injuries/Scratches (will be updated as information is made known):

Coyotes: Kurt Sauer(IR), Scottie Upshall(IR), Robert Lang(Day to Day), Viktor Tikhonov (Scratch), Paul Bissonnette (Scratch), The San Antonio 8 (Scratch),
Red Wings: Kurt Maltby, Jason Williams, Daniel Larsson, Doug Janik, Brad May, Mattias Ritola, Jakub Kindl, Derek Meetch, Brett Lebda