Phoenix Coyotes vs Detroit Red Wings Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarter Finals Red Wings lead the series 3 – 2 Joe Lewis Arena – Detroit, MI Puck Drops at 11:00 AM AZ Time TV: NBC(US) – TSN/RDS (Canada)Radio:XTRA 910

The Phoenix Coyotes find themselves in a new situation this season….facing elimination at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 later this morning (11 AM on NBC/TSN/RDS). Up to this point in the series, the Coyotes have had the skills and work ethic to win games. However, the Detroit Red Wings playoff experience has been the deciding factor in this series. The playoff inexperienced Coyotes have not played a sound mental game for some time now and will need one to pull out a victory here today.

The good thing is that this series is not overwith as of yet and the Coyotes have the opportunity to force a game seven back at the Jobing.com arena. Furthermore, they have been doing many things right on the ice that can be leveraged for game 6 (like faceoffs, penalty killing, etc).

The Red Wings will be more than prepared to not only play the game of their life later this morning, but will be prepared to face what the Coyotes will be throwing their way….which is the Hockey version of ‘everything including the kitchen sink’.

So what are the Phoenix Coyotes going to need to do to win this game and possibly the series?

Former Phoenix Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky gives insight as to what it takes to win a Stanley Cup from his experience of winning it all 1982…this definitely applies to game 6 for the Phoenix Coyotes (taken from an AP interview in 2009):

“After losing that first final (against the New York Islanders), walking by their locker room, the one thought we had as players was: it was going to be a dreadful sight going by their locker room and watching them celebrate and having a tremendous time,” Gretzky said. “As we found out … it was pretty quiet in there.

“We sort of walked out healthy and they were beat up. We realized then and there that it takes a lot more than just wanting to win. You were going to have to earn it, and it was going to take a lot to win a Stanley Cup and be a champion. That’s what we learned from the Islanders.”

The thing is the Red Wings are well versed in this aspect of the playoffs. The Coyotes are just learning it.

As I’ve said before, the Coyotes have the skills and talent to win beat the Red Wings in this series. The question is do the Coyotes want it bad enough and are they willing to make the necessary sacrifices to win? This includes checking, blocking shots, being mentally aware of their opponents locations on the ice, and so on.

It’s do or die time.

Bring it back for 7!

Cheat Sheet:

- No lineup changes are expected for the Detroit Red Wings in game 6

- Ilya Bryzgalov expected to start for the Coyotes in Game 6 and Jimmy Howard is expected to start in net for the Red Wings.

- Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer will appear at the game 6 viewing party at Padre Murphy’s located at 4338 W. Bell Road in Glendale. Sauer will sign autographs for fans on hand. There will also be a second viewing party at Blue 32 Sports Grill located at 1524 East Williamsfield in Gilbert.

- Defenseman Mathieu Schneider is expected to play in game 6

- Coyotes Captain Shane Doan will be re-evaluated by the training staff this morning. I’m expecting him to play in this elimination game. What actually happens, may be something entirely different.

Comments from Phoenix Coyotes Head Coach Dave Tippett on Saturday Afternoon (Courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com):

Comments from Coyotes Defenseman Ed Jovanovski from Saturday Afternoon (Courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com):

Things to watch for:

Stupid Penalties – We get to see if the Coyotes Team Chaplin fully exorcised the Stupid Penalty Demons that existed during game 5.

Coyotes defensive discipline – The Coyotes HAVE to play the best defensive game of the season to be able have the best opportunity to win.

Keys to the game (some of these are the same as game 5 as they still apply for game 6):

Coyotes Role players HAVE to step up in the scoring department – I found this quote from 2009 when a reporter from the AP talked with Former Coyotes Coach Wayne Gretzky about what Pittsburgh needed to win the Stanley Cup last year “In order for Pittsburgh to have success in this series, they’re going to need their role players to step up and contribute in a way that’s going to be a positive factor.” This applies to the Coyotes as well. Key scorers have been shutout as the Red Wings know that the secondary scoring (READ: 3rd and 4th lines) are not coming up with goals in this series. Now is their time to step up. They have to come up big today.

Faceoffs – The Coyotes are most successful when they win key faceoffs and gain possession of the puck. This is another aspect of the series that the Wings have taken advantage of at times. The Coyotes MUST win key faceoffs tonight especially on the Power Play if they are going to be successful tonight.

Bryz has to be the best player on the ice – In this series Bryz has been one of the best players on the ice. However, he needs to have the best game in his career to be able to give the Coyotes the best chance of moving on.

Stop allowing the Detroit Crease Campers (Bertuzzi/Holmstrom/etc) to get possession of the puck in front of Bryzgalov – They have done too much damage in the series. The Coyotes need to stop the Red Wings from gaining control of the puck in the crease area as they have been wreaking havoc in the scoring department. The Red Wings have done a pretty good job this series stopping the Coyotes from getting secondary chances on Jimmy Howard. Why can’t the Coyotes do the same thing on the other end of the ice?

Shoot. The. Puck. – The Way to beat Jimmy Howard is not only to get perimeter shots on the Red Wings goaltender but to also pepper him with shots on secondary scoring chances up close. The Red Wings dominated the previous games in the shot department. Howard is weakest when he commits to shots and the Coyotes HAVE to take advantage of that. The Coyotes failed immensely in the shot department in game 4. As a result, they suffered immensely in the game 4 final score.

Find safety valves when the Red Wings pressure the puck carrier – One challenge that the Coyotes have had this series is working through situations where the Red Wings pressure the puck carrier in all three zones on the ice. The Coyotes need to be aware of this and adapt to it. Find the open man.

How bad do the Coyotes want it? – This is a best of two series now. The Coyotes playoff destiny is now entirely in their hands. They have the tools and ability to win this series. The question is….how bad do the Coyotes want it and are they willing to do what it takes to win?

Officials:

Referee – #20 Tim Peel – #9 Dan O’Rourke – (Standby) #43 Brian Pochmara
Linesmen – #93 Brian Murphy #80 Thor Nelson – (Standby) #50 Scott Cherrey

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

Coyotes: Kurt Sauer(IR), Scottie Upshall(IR), Jim Vandermeer (Scratch), Shane Doan(Game time decision), Petteri Nokelainen (Scratch), 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