DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings may be well ahead in the playoff standings, but the Chicago Blackhawks continue to get the best of their longtime rivals this season.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, fighting for their playoff lives down to the final weekend, won their fourth in a row against the Red Wings on Friday, a convincing 4-2 victory at Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit took the home ice for the final time in the regular season, but left to boos after trailing 3-0 after a lopsided first period. In their first game without Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings’ two goals came in the waning moments of the second and third periods.

"We got down 3-0 or 4-0, and I don’t know if we ever got playing," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We scored a couple of goals, but I don’t think, obviously, the level of urgency was there. We weren’t good enough. That’s all there is to it."

Chicago entered the evening in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Dallas and Calgary. The Red Wings began the game a point behind San Jose for the No. 2 spot. Red Wings players and coaches alike said Chicago’s sense of urgency showed on the ice, particularly in the game’s first nine minutes.

"They were a lot more desperate than we were, especially in the first period," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "They came out with a better push and they pushed us back."

The Blackhawks wasted little time -- just 27 seconds -- silencing the home crowd when defenseman Brent Seabrook connected on a one-timer from forward Patrick Sharp for an early 1-0 lead.

Just less than six minutes later, Chicago forward Patrick Kane knocked the puck away from Detroit’s Valtteri Filppula, right to forward Ben Smith, who netted his first goal of the season.

Chicago’s Brian Campbell made it a convincing 3-0 lead at the 8:45 mark, when he beat Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard in front of the Red Wings’ net.

Marian Hossa added a power-play goal -- his 25th score of the season -- 6:44 into the second period for the 4-0 lead. From that point forward, Chicago continued to control the pace and flow of the game.

"It’s pretty tough," said Detroit forward Danny Cleary. "We haven’t played well at home. We haven’t played well for a while here consistently. We’ve got to find a way."

Detroit finally got on the board with 21 seconds remaining in the second period, when Drew Miller converted his ninth goal of the year. The Red Wings’ second goal came with 1:20 to go in the game, a short wrap-around goal from Tomas Holmstrom.

The Red Wings, who won just two of their final eight home games, will finish the season with a better road record (25-11-4 entering Sunday’s season finale at Chicago) than home mark (21-14-6).

They will have a chance to improve on that road mark -- and exact revenge against the Blackhawks -- when they take the ice Sunday (12:30 p.m., NBC) for the two teams’ final regular-season game.

It also will be Detroit’s final tune-up before the club’s 20th consecutive trip to the playoffs.

"We’ve got one more game to get ourselves ready," Babcock said. "We’ve got to get our brain in gear and get playing. The good thing about the playoffs is it’s only long for two teams. The rest can be done in a hurry. The sense of urgency we have to have and the change in mindset we have to have is very apparent just from watching this game tonight."