Red Wings 4, Coyotes 0: Jimmy Howard turned aside all 34 shots he faced for his second shutout in four games and Johan Franzen scored twice as host Detroit pulled within one point of the final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

Damien Brunner had a goal and an assist, Valtteri Filppula also tallied and captain Henrik Zetterberg set up three power-play goals. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall added a pair of assists for the Red Wings, who posted just their second win in seven outings (2-2-3) to remain on the heels of idle Minnesota and Columbus.

Mike Smith finished with 19 saves for the Coyotes, who fell to 1-2-2 in their last five contests and sit five points out of eighth place with three games remaining.

Howard registered his 15th career shutout to improve to 8-1-2 lifetime versus Phoenix. The netminder stopped 12 shots in the first and third periods and 10 in the second for his fourth blanking in 2013.

Despite mustering just four shots in the first period, Detroit converted on both of its power plays to take a 2-0 lead. Franzen redirected Brunner's slap pass to open the scoring at 2:37 before the latter deflected Zetterberg's diagonal feed from the top of the left faceoff circle to the bottom of the right with 36 seconds remaining in the period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit's victory prevented both San Jose and St. Louis from clinching postseason berths. ... Filppula gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead with 3:51 remaining in the second, when his one-timer from the bottom of the right circle handcuffed Smith. Franzen capped the scoring with an empty-net tally. ... The Red Wings went 3-for-5 on the power play after failing to score on 10 opportunities with the man advantage in their previous three games. The three power-play goals matched a season high for Detroit, which also accomplished the feat in an 8-3 triumph over Vancouver on Feb. 24.