Already ahead 1-0 in their NHL Western Conference quarter-final series against the Phoenix Coyotes, the Detroit Red Wings may have found more cause to celebrate Thursday.

Injured centre Henrik Zetterberg, out with a sprained left knee, skated briefly on his own, and afterward reported progress in his recovery.

"I was out there for 15 minutes," Zetterberg said. "It was fun to be out there, feel the puck again. I didn't expect that a few days ago.

"I didn't so any serious stuff, just go out and stickhandle a little bit and have some shots.''

With Game 2 of the best-of-seven series slated for Saturday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena, Zetterberg wasn't completely ruling out his participation. "I feel better today than I did yesterday," he said.

"It's day by day. We'll see how I react after today. We bumped it up a little bit in the workout room today. We've just got to see how I respond."

The news on injured Phoenix defenceman Derek Morris (upper body injury) wasn't as promising.

"He's day to day still," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "He's here, but he hasn't been on the ice in a couple of days. We'll see where he's at [Friday] morning."

'Happier' Mule

The Wings were delighted to see slumping forward Johan "The Mule" Franzen light the lamp in Game 1. He'd scored only twice in Detroit's last 27 regular-season games, but now has seven goals in his last 13 playoff games.

"He's been happier the last few days," teammate Dan Cleary noted. "He just hates the regular season, I think."

In a more serious tone, Cleary talked about what a streaking Franzen means to Detroit's Stanley Cup chances.

"We all know how important he is for our team," Cleary said. "When he's going, he's very hard to stop. If he gets on a roll, it's complete dominance physically. His skating, he's so powerful working without the puck and his shot is world class."

Sticking to it

The NHL issued an advisory to all teams prior to the playoffs that officials would be cracking down on stick fouls to opponents' hands, but the Wings apparently needed more time to hear the message, earning three hooking infractions in the first 25 minutes of Game 1.

"Both teams were aware that it was going to be tighter," Cleary said. "We didn't get the memo probably as quickly as they did."

Coyotes captain Shane Doan felt the advisory from the league was something that has the potential to impact the series.

"It's one of the those things we have to be conscious of," Doan said.

Wings coach Mike Babcock was disappointed that his team didn't take the notice to heart.

"We were warned before the game, we didn't make an adjustment in the first period and we went to the box," Babcock said. "That's our problem and we've got to fix that problem."

Whither Winnipeg?

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett was suspicious of a radio report just prior to Game 1 that said it was a done deal that Phoenix would relocate to Winnipeg next season, a report denied by the both the team and the NHL.

"I found it very interesting, four hours before Game 1 to get a report like that," Tippett said. "It's interesting how it comes out just like that.

He didn't expect it to have any impact on his club's focus.

"Our guys, we use it as a motivating factor, a galvanizing factor," Tippett said. "What happens in the business world of hockey in inconsequential to us right now. We're
concerned about what we have to do to get back on track for Game 2."

Cleary, who played one season for the Coyotes, weighed in on the ongoing debate over whether the Phoenix franchise will return to Winnipeg, from whence it left in 1996.

Asked whether he'd prefer road trips to Phoenix or Winnipeg, Cleary paused.

"I think we all know the answer to that," he said before walking away.