Phoenix puts Red Wings in 2-1 hole

4/18/2010

DETROIT — The Phoenix Coyotes have thrived in the face of adversity all season.

They did it again Sunday in Game 3 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Overcoming the loss of captain Shane Doan and another key player, Petr Prucha and Radim Vrbata scored midway through the third period to lift the Coyotes to a 4-2 victory and a 2-1 series lead.

“From where we've come from, a couple injuries are not going to deter us,” Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “Shane is a great player, he's our leader, but we recognized we had a game to play.”

Phoenix scratched forward Vernon Fiddler, who got hit in the lip by a stick in Game 2, and lost Doan on his first shift of the second period when he appeared to have an upper-body injury after running into the endboards.

“They just got better,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “With no Fiddler and no Doan, they had the puck more than we did.”