GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Adversity has brought out the best in the Detroit Red Wings this season.

That was the case during an injury-plagued regular season that required a last-quarter surge just to make the playoffs. And that was the case during their Western Conference quarterfinal series against Phoenix, which boiled down to a Game 7 on Tuesday.

The Red Wings, when it mattered the most, exerted their will on the upstart Coyotes, peppering goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov with 50 shots in a dominant 6-1 victory at Jobing.com Arena.

The Red Wings don't have much time to celebrate or catch their breath. They play the San Jose Sharks in the conference semifinals starting Thursday at HP Pavilion. Game 2 is Sunday.

"I expected us to be good,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I know the group pretty good. We played really well at times in this series and (Bryzgalov) hung in there. We felt if we kept it going all game long, we'd have a chance to be successful.

RED WINGS 6, COYOTES 1 Key play: The Red Wings killed off consecutive power plays, including a two-man advantage that lasted 1:12 late in the second period, before Brad Stuart stepped out of the penalty box and scored with 4.6 seconds to play to give them a 4-1 lead.



Hero: Pavel Datsyuk scored the first two goals of the game 1:41 apart early in the second period, getting the team rolling after goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov stood on his head in the first period.



Goat: Lee Stempniak, who provided an offensive boost after arriving from Toronto at the trade deadline, again was a non-factor. He finished the series with no goals, two assists and a minus-4 rating.



Analysis: The Red Wings displayed quite the split personality in this series. They unexpectedly lost a couple games at home, but desperate situations bring out the best in them. When their high-end players perform like they did in this game, they will be tough for any team to beat. The scrappy Coyotes played the Red Wings tough, showing them they can't afford to take their foot off the gas pedal in a league that is as competitive as ever.

"Our good players have been really good when we needed them in this series.''

, had two power-play goals and an assist. Pavel Datsyuk scored the first two goals of the game. Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski contributed three assists each.

"That's how it supposed to be,'' Babcock said. "Our big guys were fantastic today. They really came to play. To be successful this time of year, that's what you need.''

Brad Stuart and Todd Bertuzzi also scored, and Valtteri Filppula chipped in a pair of assists.

Rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard wasn't nearly as busy as Bryzgalov, but made some timely saves as the Red Wings won their first Game 7 on the road since 1964. They denied Phoenix an opportunity to win its first playoff series since 1987 when the franchise was in Winnipeg.

"Good for him. A kid, your first year, you win a Game 7,'' Babcock said. "He had a lot of run support today, but still he was able to get the job done and he made some huge saves on the penalty kill.''

The road team won five games in the series, three by Detroit.

"We got a solid team, a great road team that's really mentally tough, really sticks to the game plan,'' Howard said. "I think it stems from our captain (Lidstrom). He stays so calm. When the game's on the line and your leaders go after it and it allows every one else to raise their game, everything else falls into place.''

The Red Wings scored three times on the power play after going 0-for-11 with the extra man in the previous two games. Phoenix, which scored three power-play goals in its 5-2 win in Game 5, went 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

"It is a great feeling to see the team respond the way we did in a Game 7 on the road,'' Lidstrom said. "We played with a lot of confidence, even after the first period when (it was scoreless). We played with patience.''

The Red Wings outscored the Coyotes 4-1 in the second period following a scoreless first period that Detroit dominated.

A key sequence came late in the period, when the Red Wings killed two Phoenix power plays, including a two-man advantage for 1:12.

Brad Stuart then came out of the penalty box to score on a breakaway with 4.6 seconds remaining, giving his team a three-goal cushion.

"That's the turning point in the game. It's either 3-2 or 4-1,'' Stuart said. "Guys did an awesome job (on the penalty kill). Come out of the box and an opportunity was sitting there.''

Datsyuk got the ball rolling earlier in the period with a power-play goal at 2:01, settling a bouncing puck in the slot before whipping in a shot. Lidstrom's pass from behind the net was intended for Tomas Holmstrom but took a fortuitous bounce onto Datsyuk's stick.

Datsyuk scored again at 3:42 on a breakaway during four-on-four play. He was sprung free on a pass from Zetterberg and made a great move to beat Bryzgalov, faking a backhand shot and whipping in a shot on his forehand.

"The puck bounced to me and I just shoot it. I didn't see anything, just shoot it, saw (teammates) start cheering,'' Datsyuk said.

And on the second one, he said, "Our defenseman (Rafalski) and Hank (Zetterberg) did excellent job giving me pass.''

The Coyotes scored at 8:23 when Vernon Fiddler swatted the puck past a surprised Howard right off a faceoff with Datsyuk.

Lidstrom, however, made the Coyotes pay for Adrian Aucoin's holding penalty, scoring from the high slot with 2 seconds remaining on the power play at 13:52 to make it 3-1.

Bertuzzi (6:35) scored his first goal of the playoffs and Lidstrom (12:14) notched his second goal of the game in the third period to break it wide open.

And now, a season that appeared on the brink on several occasions motors on.