The Wings have been clipped.
Detroit, the National Hockey League's most consistent postseason partygoer, is teetering on the brink of elimination following a humbling 5-2 defeat at home in Game 6 on Sunday.
For the Red Wings and coach Mike Babcock, that loss had to be more than troubling.
They had no spunk, and very little of that competitive desire that has come to be the hallmark of hockey's most hyper-competitive team.
The five-man unit that makes up Red Wings hockey was a five-man disaster.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard may take home the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, but his performance in Game 6 was a stumble. The opening goal to Lauri Korpikoski should have been an omen - Detroit just doesn't allow shorthanded goals, and that one was ugly.
In the middle games of the series, the Red Wings had locked down the Coyotes' eclectic Game 1 power play.
In Game 6, the Coyotes pelted the Detroit penalty killers and took a page out of the Hockeytown playbook: shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots.
Everybody.
Phoenix clearly entered this series with a well-thought and defined game plan, and though there have been some setbacks in the series, each response has been better than the last.
Without captain Shane Doan, the Coyotes have stepped up to a different level and are using scoring from up and down the lineup. That's the recipe for winning in April.
A Game 5 loss in Glendale could have been crippling, but the Coyotes put together perhaps one of this playoff season's most complete performances to even the series.
The final game of the series will have so many storylines. Will this be the last game in Phoenix for the Coyotes should they lose? Can the Coyotes continue writing this fairy tale amidst all of the off-ice shenanigans?
If one man has a say in all of this, it's Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. He has delivered Conn Smythe- worthy efforts between the pipes whenever called on. His coach, Dave Tippett, has used him a lot this year, but why not?
The dude sported one of hockey's lowest goals-against averages this year and his save percentage is off the charts. And the Coyotes got him for free on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks two years ago.
That day, Phoenix went from bottom-feeder to force-to-be-reckoned-with seemingly overnight.
The Red Wings could win Game 7 tomorrow night, but I'm not counting on it. Their defense looks worn out, and the Coyotes have figured out Howard: get him moving across the crease and shoot upstairs.
Babcock always revs up his team at the right time, and he needs to pull one more rabbit out of his hat.
And then, there's this: the last time the Red Wings won a Game 7 away from home? 1964.
This year, it may be time for Red Wings fans to quit buying stock in octopi and start buying stock in Ben and Jerry's.
- Rob Mixer is a senior studying journalism and The Post's assistant sports editor. If you can't wait to see a Stanley Cup final without the Detroit Red Wings, e-mail him at rm233405@ohiou.edu.
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Rob Mixer
