DETROIT -- Where have these Detroit Red Wings been this entire series?

Where was the poise for the first three games? The pride, determination and, yes, sprinkle of luck? The resilience?

The victories? The knock-down, drag-out, blood-sweat-and-tears wins that leave you exhausted and hungry for more?

Detroit finally put all of that together in Game 4 on Friday night. Now, they just have to hope that it didn’t come too late.

Darren Helm made sure the Red Wings would take at least one more cross-country flight to California when he scored with 1:27 remaining in the third period to give Detroit a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks on Friday night at Joe Louis Arena.

It not only prevented elimination, but it proved the Red Wings actually could win a close game against the Sharks.

Now, they only need to do it three more times.

"It’s about the logo on your chest," Helm said. "There’s a lot of pride in this dressing room and guys knew it was a desperate situation and they didn’t want to be embarrassed by being swept. We feel like we have a good chance here."

Strangely, desperation suits them. But if history is any indication, the end result probably isn’t going to be a miraculous comeback. The Western Conference finals still remain nothing more than a pipe dream.

For one game, though, the Red Wings gave their fans a glimmer of hope.

But it shouldn’t stem the frustration that comes with a 3-1 series hole. Even with the victory, the Sharks’ resurgence after falling behind 3-0 early can’t be a good sign for the Red Wings’ long-term comeback plans.

Still, it’s a start. And the Red Wings clearly had to start somewhere.

"I think we felt that we had more to give. That we could play better," said captain Nicklas Lidstrom, who staved off retirement talk for at least one more game by scoring a pair of goals. "Even though they came back late in the game, we were a desperate team that still wanted to play hockey."

Granted, the Red Wings haven’t been blown out by San Jose this postseason. Detroit has played well in spurts, and every game has been decided by one goal.

The Sharks just have been a little bit better.

They nearly were again in Game 4.

San Jose surely knew Detroit was going to come out swinging early. Sharks coach and former Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan even said as much after Game 3.

Clearly, he was remembering the teams’ postseason matchup from 2010, when the Red Wings forced a Game 5 with a 7-1 victory at The Joe.

Game 4 in 2011 may not have been a blowout, but the end result was the same. Detroit just has to hope it can build on that momentum.

That’s what Stanley Cup contenders do, not Stanley Cup also-rans. Even in their dire predicament, the Red Wings still consider themselves to be Stanley Cup contenders.

You started to get the feeling that things actually might go Detroit’s way for once when Todd Bertuzzi opened the scoring 6:22 into the game with a spin move that must have drawn an approving nod from Pavel Datsyuk.

You had the feeling that things actually might go Detroit’s way when Lidstrom settled a bouncing pass and fired a one-hopper past Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi with 1:59 remaining in the first that made it 3-0. Even Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge would have had a hard time fielding that one cleanly.

You had the feeling everything was going to fall apart when San Jose’s Dany Heatly tied the score at 3-3 early in the third.

Rather than wilt away, though, the Red Wings found a way to come through late.

Repeating that kind of effort now has to be their top objective.

"As a team we just said, ‘We got to go out there and play with confidence,’ " Lidstrom said. " ‘We know we can play and we just have to go out there and do it. We’ve said a lot of things in here, but now it’s time to go out there and do it.’ "

Only three teams in NHL history have dug themselves out of an 0-3 series hole. One of those was last year, when Philadelphia stunned Boston. Chicago almost did it against Vancouver in the first round.

"That’s why we play. You never know what’s going to happen out there," Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard said. "We won one, and now we’ve got to concentrate on Game 5."

Can the Red Wings be the fourth team to come all the way back? Maybe, if they can find a way to repeat their Game 4 performance -- and then step it up another notch or two.

It’s not the wildest notion in the world.

It’s just hard to see that becoming reality.

E-mail Michael Zuidema: mzuidema@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/michaelzuidema