I disagree. I though the Wings played just as good in the first as they did in the 2nd. They just got a lot of bad breaks. The hooking and slashing calls were pretty soft. Datsyuk was an absolute beast on the penalty kills, throwing hits, stealing the puck, and breaking to the 'yotes net more than once. Had one of his (or Hudlers, or Helms) break aways produced a short handed goal, epsecially in that 5 on 3, people would be singing a different tune about the Wing's 1st period.
The first shot that got past Howard was a one timer bullet right into the upper corner from short range. The kind of shot that would have gotten past any goalie in the league. Overall he had a good game, nothing spectacular, but nowhere near the brain-dead performances he's had over the past month or two.
I'm still holding off on saying the Wings are back in true April form. I mean, its only Phoenix, and it is only one playoff game so far. We still have 10:30 PM road games ahead, well past Lidstrom's bedtime. But the again, the last time the Wings spent time out west, they played well.