Update (4:54 PM): One more thing:

No Let Up: Something to remember. The Wings didn’t let up at the end, as they sometimes do. There was no letting off the gas to accommodate the Coyotes’ feelings. They kept at it. Of course, the Fiddler penalties probably helped their motivation there, but the point is the Wings seemed angry or whatever enough to keep sticking it to the Coyotes late into the game, even with it well in-hand. I like what that might mean for them going forward and it’s a prime reason why I think they’re actually, really awake now. - Matt

Beatdown: That was as complete a beatdown as we’ve seen the Wings dish out in a long time, I think. There were points where the score was still close that I worried in the back of my brain that things could still go south, but really the Coyotes never had a chance. The Wings were there to execute.

On is Really On: The Wings started out the game strong. They looked like they had the jump needed to make it a game and to win a close one. Then they went on the powerplay and it was like they’d hit the nitrous switch. And they had a really big tank of it, because they kept it up for 90% of the rest of the game.

Power plays: The Wings put on some of the most dominant power play clinics I’ve seen last night. They just owned the puck and the zone. Incredible effort, incredible teamwork. The Coyotes had no chance.

Datsyuk: Heck of a game from #13. His second goal may have been the initial backbreaker. He was great at both ends and generally looked dominant the whole night.

Stuart: Probably burned away a lot of ill will for his fairly awful series with that breakaway goal. I actually felt light-headed after he scored that one. It kind of fried my brain. How often do we see someone come out of the box and score like that? And how often is it a defenseman? I’ll tell you: next to never. Amazing.

Zetterberg: Had a strong night as well, with three assists and some strong defensive play. He took a two-hander from a classless Yandle after the Stuart goal, but seemed okay. He and Fil have really found a groove together.

Bottom Two Lines: I thought they both seemed to be liabilities to the Wings in the early going as it seemed like the Coyotes could pin them in the Detroit end at will, but gradually, they managed to fight back and gain some ground. They ended up looking pretty solid.

Lidstrom: Consider this game a big middle finger to the Norris voters.

Bryzgalov: Had a definite unbeatable look early on, but when the Wings finally cracked him, he started to look much closer to beatable. He’s a scary goalie, but once he gets cracked, his game slips. It just takes a lot to crack him.

Howard: Could have had another shut out, if not for a debatable faceoff goal by Fiddler. I suspect he jumped the gun on the draw and didn’t get called for it, but whatever. It’s in the past. You can bet Jimmy’ll be ready for that possibility from now on, even if he never faces that particular shot again in his career. Lesson learned.

Holmstrom: Another game in which he took a massive beating. This time he drew a penalty by was widely characterized as diving. I honestly didn’t see that in the play, but if true, consider it evening the score for all the uncalled crap teams get away with when defending him on a shift-by-shift basis. No one takes more abuse and no one has fewer penalties called because of it, relatively speaking.

Chants: Memo to Coyotes fans: save the goalie taunts for when you’re ahead in the game. And don’t throw beer bottles on the ice in the middle of play.

Jovanovski: Sheer, unadulterated idiot. Fact.

Second period: What’s most amazing about this game, maybe, is the second period effort. The Wings threw the kitchen sink at the Coyotes in the first and didn’t come away with anything to show for it aside from 17 shots. Recent history suggested they’d come out flat in the second. Instead, they had one of their best periods of the series, if not the best. That, together with the third, made for their most complete game in a while.

Second round snap preview: We’ve got two teams that had scares in their first round matchups, so we have two teams that should be playing playoff hockey. Should be.

In San Jose, there’s always the chance that they’ll end up choking. But there’s also the chance that this is the year. In Detroit, there’s always the chance that they can’t keep it up for more than a few games. But there’s also the chance that, having dispatched the Coyotes so emphatically, they’re actually awake and ready to roll now. I really believe the latter is the case, especially since they know they have to show up for a series with the Sharks. With the Coyotes, it may have been easy to fall into the trap of taking them lightly. They fixed that last night and now should have no such issues with a known quantity such as San Jose.

So even if the Sharks aren’t going to choke, they’re in tough to beat the Wings team that showed up last night.

On the fast turnaround (G1 is Thursday at 9), I have mixed feelings: on one hand, I’d like to see the Wings get a little bit more of a break. On the other, not losing whatever they started last night is paramount. So I probably fall more on the “let’s get going again” side.

That is, if the Wings can shut down the man who’s proving to be the exception to the Sharks’ playoff rule: Joe Pavelski. Time to give Zetterberg his first true shutdown assignment of the playoffs, Babs.

It’s going to be an epic series.

(sidebar to be updated when the schedule is released)

One of Those: Like Tyler said, this game definitely had a “one of those games” feel to it. For the first period, anyway. The Wings dominated so thoroughly in the first yet came up so empty-handed that I had a feeling things wouldn’t go their way. Sometimes it’s just not their game.

But: In the second period, it stopped being about being “one of those games” and became a game lost due to poor effort. The slide started with the shorthanded goal. It became pronounced when Schneider’s rocket boomed into the net. The Wings fell off. At that point, it was no longer “eh, it’s just not their night. Puck luck, all that.” At that point, they began the process by which they eventually accepted responsibility for the loss from the hockey gods.

Had they put forth the first period effort for all 60, they might still have lost. Bryzgalov looked that sharp. But their effort in the final 40 sealed the deal.

Howard: Not his best game. He should have had that first goal. And maybe things would have been different had the Coyotes been unable to stick a pin in the Wings’ first period balloon. Maybe not. But for the rest of the game, he was hung out to dry by a defense that failed to show up, victimized by a Coyotes team that flat out executed. Not a lot more he could have done, once the rest of the team lost their edge.

Filppula: The guy wanted the win. One of maybe three Wings that showed it outright. It’s very unfortunate he wasn’t able to do it all himself.

Abdelkader: I thought the hit on Stempniak was clean. It wasn’t a headshot, with contact focused on Stempniak’s shoulder and chest, though Stempniak’s positioning was a little vulnerable. I truly hate that Abdelkader has to answer for that hit at Morris’ call. That kind of crap is so asinine. Nobody can take a clean hit in this League any more.

And his spat with Yandle? Whatever. He was agitating. And then defending his life. That crap’s going to be remembered tomorrow. I hope.

Helm: Another Wing with a strong game overall. But the focus here is the slash he took at Lepisto’s hands at the end. Here’s hoping he’s okay. And that Lepisto pays with a trip to the golf course after tomorrow night. Paying back that kind of classlessness takes a special kind of scoreboard beatdown. Do it, Wings. Do it for Helmer.

Stuart: Crap game defensively. What was he responsible for, directly or indirectly? Three goals? Two? Too many. Sure he scored one. But, you know, a blind squirrel… Stuart was a blind squirrel yesterday.

Solidarity: George is taking some flak (CrosFace Alert!) for this today, but I’m on board. For all my post-game thrashing of their effort, I retain an undampenable faith in the Wings’ ability to do this. They turned in a poor effort in front of their own fans, which is disturbing and worthy of anger, but they also got embarrassed by the Coyotes’ hypocritical score up-running (by their own book, games should apparently only be 1-goal wins, if that. Preferably, in a shootout.). Athletes worth their salt remember that kind of crap.

And the Wings are worth their salt. Whatever that means. Update: The last three sentences are poorly-executed sarcasm, not serious. Though I do think the Wings are worth their salt and may play with a memory of giving up five at home in their heads tomorrow. – Matt

That doesn’t mean tomorrow night doesn’t stand a good chance of sending us all to untimely deaths from the stress. But for those of us who pull through, there should be happiness.