2010 Western Conference Playoffs

#4 Seed VS. #5 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up Wednesday night in Pheonix and features the #4 seed Coyotes against the #5 seed Wings from Detroit. The Coyotes have been one of the nicest surprises this season, and it is really a testament to the players who had to spend all offseason wondering where their home was going to be. This has been a weird season for Detroit who after sitting at eleventh spot for most of the season have jumped up the standings all the way to 5th spot. Watch for dynamic Wings forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to continue to rack up the points in the postseason. The gamechanger for the wings however falls of the shoulders of Johan Franzen whose return from injury has played a major role in the Wings climb. Don’t forget about Tomas Holmstrom and Todd Bertuzzi who can always be found right in the face of the opposing goaltender. For the Coyotes look at young forward Woltjek Wolski to be one of the main offensive leaders along with Shane Doan and Lee Stempniak who has been a nice surprise since his arrival at the deadline. On defence the Wings have perennial Norris trophy candidate Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski to lead the way. Watch out for Niklas Kronwall who has a knack for laying punishing hits in the postseason. In Pheonix the main defender is Keith Yandle who has been an offensive surprise this season and should continue to do so in the future. Look for Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin to lend some much needed experience. In net Ilya Bryzgalov has been dynamite for the Coyotes all season finishing second on shutouts behind only Brodeur. Jimmy Howard has been a nice surprise in the 2nd half of the season for the Wings, look for him to show he wants to be the guy of the future and have a big series against the Coyotes.

Prediction: The Coyotes have had a nice season but it is unfortunate they run into a powerful Wings team who had a rough start to the season. This series will add some much needed experience to the Coyotes for the future whether that be in Pheonix or not. Franzen contines to dominate in the playoffs and unfortunatly for the Coyotes its DETROIT IN 6.

Key Players: Coyotes: Bryzgalov, Wolski, Doan, Stempniak, Yandle, Jovanovski. Wings: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Howard.