The Detroit Red Wings didn't feel any home-ice disadvantage during the first two games of their Western Conference opening-round series against the Phoenix Coyotes, and they don't expect to gain any edge as they return home Sunday for Game 3 of the best-of-seven set.
"I don't think so," Wings coach Mike Babcock said after splitting the two games in Phoenix. "It's going to come down to the team that's better in the series.
"They're a real quick team that's playing well, and the games have been very close."
A large contingent of Detroit fans helped warm the environment for the Wings during the first two games.
"Down in Phoenix, we had a ton of Red Wings fans there," Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. "You could hear the 'Let's go Red Wings,' chant going. It felt good knowing we had a core of fans behind us.
"It was a lot of fun down, there, a great experience, and I can't wait to get on the ice at home now."
Phoenix coach Dave Tippett is of the opinion that the hostile Joe Louis Arena crowd could be an inspiration to his team.
"I used to think that as a player, and as a coach," Tippett said. "There's nothing like coming into a building and being a deterrent to all those people."
Bert and Eddie
One of the more entertaining battles within the battle so far in this series has been the jousting for position in front the Phoenix net between former Vancouver Canucks teammates Todd Bertuzzi and Ed Jovanovski.
"He's a good player, a tough competitor," Detroit winger Bertuzzi said of Coyotes defenceman Jovanovski, his Vancouver teammate from 1998-2006. "He wants to win and it's a fun challenge."
After years of watching Bertuzzi give enemy defencemen fits, Jovanovski is now living their nightmare.
"He's a big body, a tough guy to contain," Jovanovski said. "You've got to get body positioning on him, work his hips and move him around, but it's easier said than done. He's a load to handle."
Jovanovski indicated that they'd put their friendship on hold for the next couple of weeks.
"This time of year, you've got to do whatever it takes to help your team win," Jovanovski said. "Bert's a good friend of mine. We spent a lot of good years together, but I'm sure if he sees an opportunity to do something, he's going to do it, and I've got to the same thing."
Differing philosophies
While the Wings opted to take Saturday off, the Coyotes elected to practice at Joe Louis Arena upon arrival in Detroit.
"It's an afternoon game [Sunday]," Tippett explained. "We had a three-hour flight. There were a couple of little things we wanted to work on. I talked to our players and everybody wanted to get a little sweat on with no skate in the morning.
"Our group, they're all in. They'll do whatever it takes. I just decided that skating [Saturday] was the best thing for them."
Old Lang sign?
A familiar face might greet the Wings when they take the ice for Game 3. Former Wings centre Robert Lang could return the Coyotes lineup after missing the last 19 games with a lower-body injury.
"Maybe Sunday," Lang said. "It's getting good.''
"You just want to make sure everything is 100 percent, especially in a series like this, You're going to be able to need to stake as hard as you can. If you can't be mobile, you can't help the team."
Tippett was non-committal to Lang's status. "We'll see," he said. "We'll decide that [Sunday]."
Brotherly love
Skating in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career, Coyotes defenceman Zbynek Michalek paused to consider the plight of his brother, Ottawa Senators forward Milan Michalek, who suffered a season-ending tear to the ACL in his left knee in Ottawa's playoff opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I talked to him," Zbynek said. "Injuries happen. It's just bad luck. His team is going to miss him.
"I just wished him all the best and I'm sure he can recover and be ready for training camp."
80's night
Combining for five goals in 3:58 during the second period of Detroit's 7-4 verdict in Game 2, the Coyotes and Wings brought back memories of the wide-open, high scoring NHL of the 1980s.
"It was pretty crazy," Howard said. "For four minutes there, the doors were sort of blown wide open.
"They're not always going to be pretty, but in the playoffs, it doesn't really matter about the stats. The only one you count is the wins."
Neither team figured that the skate down memory lane would continue in Game 3.
"We don't want a game where we're trading chances back and forth," Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We want to play a more solid defensive game."
"In most playoff games, you can probably point to one or two critical turning points," Tippett said. "[Friday], there was about 10."
