Quiet night in the Stanley Cup playoffs since there was only one game taking place. It was game 7 of the matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes. One of those suffered a monumental collapse paving the way for the other to advance to the semifinals.

Detroit 6 @ Phoenix 1 – The Detroit Red Wings may not be the same team they were last year or the year before, but last night’s game certainly highlighted that playoff experience matters. With the series knotted at 3, it was a must win situation for both the Red Wings and the Coyotes, but the collapse of the desert dogs paved the way for the Wings to advance to the next round to face the San Jose Sharks. Detroit pulled out all the big guns with Pavel Datsyuk contributing 2 goals, captain Niklas Lidstrom adding 2 goals and a helper while Henrik Zetterberg had 3 assists in the game. Jimmy Howard also put up a solid performance stopping 32 of 33 pucks. The Coyotes’ Ilya Bryzgalov was pummeled with 50 shots and while making 44 saves. The magical season of the Coyotes ends here and whether they’ll actually play another game in Phoenix is now up in the air.
Detroit wins the series 4-3

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 2 goals
2. Niklas Lidstrom (Detroit) – 2 goals, 1 assist
3. Jimmy Howard (Detroit ) – 32 saves

Wednesday’s Schedule:
Montreal at Washington – Series tied 3-3 (TV: TSN, Versus)