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DETROIT -- There is a little grey in some of the playoff beards now and in the restrictive salary cap world of the NHL, less separation from the rest of the league.
There is a definite urgency for the Red Wings in Tuesday's Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinal against the Phoenix Coyotes too. But if there is a whiff of panic at Joe Louis Arena, nobody was showing it during a breezy Monday afternoon practice.
"Guys know what to do here," veteran forward Todd Bertuzzi said. "We're not young little kids anymore. I think we're all guys who have been around and know the situation and know how important this game is before we go back to Phoenix.
"You will see a different team tomorrow."
It is as close to desperation as it gets in the Motor City, an unfamiliar feeling for the perennial Cup contenders. The playoffs are routine -- this is 19 seasons in a row now -- and the expectations high, especially after a late-season surge.
If not panic, there is uneasiness in self professed "Hockeytown." The Wings have now dropped their past two playoff home games -- including Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to Pittsburgh -- and a third would put them into a 3-1 dungeon heading back to Phoenix.
While not to discount the effects of the economy here, at midday on Monday, you could order six good seats together online for Tuesday's contest.
"Oh, I feel pressure because I want to win," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "That's what we do here, we win. The reason we win is we 'out determine' you in the end and we just keep on coming.
"So far in this series, they've done a better job of that part of the game. We have got to be better and we understand that totally."
In particular, the Wings need to deal with the Coyotes stifling pressure in the neutral zone and stinginess with the puck.
And unlike past playoff opponents, who didn't always protect the front of the net with such vigor, the Wings are finding it sometimes takes a beating to get into the tough areas.
While taking nothing for granted, the Coyotes have come to realize that not only are they in the playoffs, they belong here.
Earning 107 points in the regular season is one thing -- especially when a whopping 14 of those came from shootouts -- but translating that into playoff success is quite another.
Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was asked Tuesday if there was any surprise to his team competing so well against the revered Wings given the perceived gap in talent between them and supposed Western Conference heavyweights such as the Wings and San Jose Sharks.
"Why would you expect more from them than us?" Bryzgalov said in response. "Do you think we don't have enough talented players on this team?
It's a team game, it's not a personal sport like tennis."
The complicated dynamics of the franchise has demanded stressing the team-first approach while the coaching of Dave Tippett has refined it. It's why when a critical player such as Shane Doan goes down with injury in Game 3, others pick up the slack.
"There are a lot of great players around this league, but I'm a firm believer that you have to be a team to win," Tippett said. "There are very few egos with us. I don't feel we are behind anybody else. We are who we are."
The Red Wings have seen who and what they are and need to answer. And in a hurry.
"At certain points of the game, it doesn't come down to skill, it's a matter of outworking the other guy," forward Dan Cleary said. "We just have to bring more to the table. We have to be better. (Tuesday) is a must win for us."
ROB.LONGLEY@SUNMEDIA.CA