2010 NHL Playoffs Bracket: Detroit Red Wings Cool Under Pressure

Crossing three time zones to play an opponent can be taxing.

Ask the Detroit Red Wings, they had to do it four times in their opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against Phoenix.

Last Sunday's Game Six was supposed to be the closing act of the Coyotes-Red Wings saga.

It wasn't.

The Wings dropped the contest 5-2 in front of a packed house at Joe Louis Arena.

With the win, the momentum was solely in the hands of the Coyotes.

Or so they thought.

Most pegged the Wings as the "Dead Wings" after the loss. Going to Phoenix with such a disappointment at the Joe was supposed to be Mike Babcock's club's downfall.

No momentum, a blown chance and heads hung low.

That wasn't the case.

Detroit made the trek back to Phoenix's Jobing.com Arena, and then commenced in the administration of a Tuesday-night Coyote-drubbing. The Wings poured on the offense and put six goals on the board.

Was the 6-1 victory just what the Wings needed?

Of course it was—a loss meant they would no longer contend for Lord Stanley's Cup.

The triumph was deeper than that.

After handing the Coyotes their worst loss of the series, the Wings have a new found confidence.

And they'll need it against the hungry San Jose Sharks who are regular-season tested, playoff disapproved.

Let's face it, the Sharks are cursed.

However, their offense is clicking. That was evident in their disposal of the Colorado Avalanche. Led by Craig Anderson's goaltending, the Avs couldn't find away to get to a Game 7, and the Sharks lived to thrash another day.

But the NorCal club just can't get the job done in April, May, or June.

Entering the series, the Wings know that they are the underdog.

No big deal.

A team as deep as Detroit has no reason to fret. They jumped from eighth in the Western Conference standings to fifth in a matter of five weeks.

They were staring down the barrel of the "breaking the 19-year playoff streak" gun. And then they did what they do best this time of year—come together.

Are the Wings the underdog, or is that just what Babcock wants the Sharks to think?