So someone told you that firewagon hockey died in the 1990s when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings, right? You can tell that person they’re a dirty liar for at least a night as the Red Wings and Coyotes are staging their own revival of sorts in the desert.
Phoenix took a 1-0 lead into the second period only to lose it, gain it, lose it, gain it back and lose it again in a raucous wide-open affair thanks to goals from Henrik Zetterberg to make it 1-1, Wojtek Wolski to make it 2-1 Phoenix. Pavel Datsyuk scored to tie the game at 2-2 only to see Matthew Lombardi blow past defenseman Brian Rafalski to put Phoenix up 3-2. Valterri Filppula would then snipe a backhand through Ilya Bryzgalov’s five-hole to tie the game at 3-3.
The pace is frenetic, the goaltenders are frustrated, and the teams are trading punches with so little regard to defense you’d think you were watching a fight from any Rocky movie ever made. Late night fans are getting rewarded big time.