Analyzing the Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Records:

Coyotes 50-25-7, 107 points, fourth seed Western Conference; Red Wings 44-24-14, 102 points, fifth seed Western Conference.

Season series:

Red Wings won 2-0-2, the outscoring Coyotes 13-11.

Forwards:

The Coyotes added a couple significant pieces at the trade deadline in Wojtek Wolski and Lee Stempniak, bolstering their offense. They are young and fast but don't get a lot of goals from their forwards -- Radim Vrbata led them with 24 and veteran power forward Shane Doan, who plays with Wolski and Matthew Lombardi, scored 18. Either of the Red Wings' top lines (Johan Franzen-Pavel Datsyuk-Tomas Holmstrom or Valtteri Filppula-Henrik Zetterberg-Todd Bertuzzi) is capable of carrying them on a given night. And the third line is more potent since Dan Cleary joined Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves.

ADVANTAGE:

Red Wings

Defensemen:

Phoenix has an underrated, mobile, puck-moving defense that was among the league's most productive units. It has good balance on each of the pairings, with Keith Yandle (12 goals, 41 points) teaming with mid-season acquisition Derek Morris and Adrian Aucoin and Ed Jovanovski anchoring different pairings. The Red Wings have one of best top four in the league (Nicklas Lidstrom-Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall-Brad Stuart). The third pairing, Andreas Lilja and Jonathan Ericsson, can be mistake-prone, although Ericsson has improved down the stretch.

ADVANTAGE:

Red Wings

Goaltenders:

Jimmy Howard has been remarkably consistent since taking over the starting job in November. He'll make his playoff debut, but he's mature (26), experienced (four years with Grand Rapids) and confident (37-15-10, 2.26 goals-against average, .924 save percentage) and shouldn't let the pressure get to him. The 6-foot-3 Ilya Bryzgalov (42-20-6, 2.29 GAA) also was among the league leaders in most categories. He has the edge in experience, going 9-5 in the playoffs with Anaheim in 2006 and 2007.

ADVANTAGE:

Coyotes

Special teams:

The Red Wings improved dramatically on the penalty kill (ninth in NHL) due mainly to grinders Eaves, Helm and Drew Miller. Their power play features two units capable of scoring and is better than its No. 10 ranking because several key elements were missing much of the season. The Coyotes are strong on the PK (sixth), but their power play is the third-worst in the league.

ADVANTAGE:

Red Wings

Coaches:

Dave Tippett did a marvelous job with all the distractions and turmoil surrounding the franchise, guiding the team to a franchise-best record and might win the Jack Adams Award as the top coach. By the same token, this might have been Babcock's best coaching job, given the depleted lineup he had to dress the first three-quarters of the season.

ADVANTAGE:

Red Wings

Khan's prediction:

Red Wings in six.