CHICAGO -- The Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes are as disparate as NHL franchises can be.

The Red Wings have a rich history and a wealth of playoff experience. The Coyotes last qualified for the postseason in 2002 and haven't won a round since 1987, when they were the Winnipeg Jets.

Detroit labeled itself Hockeytown. The Coyotes, in constant danger of relocating, filed for bankruptcy last year and are owned by the NHL.

So it will be a clash of different hockey cultures when the teams meet in the first round of the playoffs in a series that starts either Wednesday or Thursday. Games 1 and 2 are in Glendale, Ariz.

By defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 Sunday afternoon on Brad Stuart's goal at 3:11 of overtime at the United Center, the Red Wings clinched the fifth playoff seed in the Western Conference with 102 points, drawing the surprising No. 4 seed Coyotes, who finished with a franchise-record 107 points.

"They're not much of a surprise in the fact that once you saw them get started and get rolling, they've been playing well all year,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "Dave Tippett is a real good coach, done a really good job. They're solid in net (with Ilya Bryzgalov). They've done a good job to add players. You don't get as many points as they have and win every night like they have unless you're a real good team.''

The Red Wings roll into the playoffs with a full head of steam and a 17-3-2 record in their past 22 games. They weren't sharp in their regular-season finale, getting outshot 29-21 and needing another strong performance from goaltender Jimmy Howard. But they continue finding ways to win.

The Blackhawks were denied a chance to finish first in the West. They ended up second, one point behind San Jose, and will face Nashville in the opening round.

It didn't matter too much to the Red Wings who they drew -- Phoenix, Vancouver or San Jose. They are a combined 8-1-3 this season against those clubs, including a 2-0-2 record vs. the Coyotes. But they preferred Phoenix for travel (slightly shorter flight) and logistical reasons.

"For us, that (travel) is all we talked about,'' Babcock said. "Let's have the best travel we possibly can, whether it was going to be (Phoenix) or San Jose. Our third choice, travel-wise, was Vancouver, because of (having to clear) Immigration, it's an extra hour-and-a-half every time back and forth.

"Sometimes you get lucky enough and get what you want, but you better be careful what you want sometimes.''

Stuart scored the winning goal by driving to the net from his position on defense, taking a pass from Dan Cleary and burying a shot past Antti Niemi.

"Hank (Henrik Zetterberg) held onto the puck and three guys migrated towards him,'' Stuart said. "He made a great play to find Cleary and then Cleary drew the other guy to him and found me pretty much wide open. I wasn't going to miss that one.''

The Red Wings had taken a 2-1 lead on Tomas Holmstrom's 25th goal at 7:10 of the third period. He deflected in a long wrist shot by Brian Rafalski after Pavel Datsyuk won an offensive-zone faceoff.

The lead was short-lived, as Colin Fraser scored at 10:44. Marian Hossa made a cross-ice pass to Fraser, who was rushing the net and was tied up by Stuart. The puck, however, went in off Fraser's right skate.

The goal was allowed to stand after video review, as officials ruled that Fraser did not intentionally direct the puck into the net with his skate.

The Blackhawks dominated the second period, outshooting the Red Wings 16-3, but Detroit scored the lone goal to tie it at 1-1. Patrick Eaves crashed the net and banged in a loose puck that Niemi could not control following a shot by Cleary.

Chicago opened the scoring on the power play at 14:56 of the first period when Dave Bolland knocked in the puck from the crease during a scramble.

The Red Wings knew they had to win to finish fifth because Los Angeles had defeated Colorado 2-1 in overtime minutes before the end of this game.

"It's definitely what we were playing for. We wanted to finish higher up in the standings,'' Howard said. "We felt like if we won this game we'd be starting the playoffs on the right foot.''