DETROIT -- The Red Wings look as unbeatable now as they did during the regular season, when they finished with at least 15 more points than any other team.

After a rough playoff start, they're rolling.

They eliminated St. Louis in five games on Saturday, after winning the final four games of their first-round series against Vancouver. The Canucks provided Detroit with a wake-up call by winning the first two games of that series.

While Detroit's future Hall of Famers waited for Colorado to advance to the Western Conference finals, the question lingered: Can anybody beat the Red Wings four times in a series if they're playing as well, or better, as they are now?

"We'll find out," captain Steve Yzerman said.

Although many believe the answer is "No," none of the Red Wings were brash enough to say that they're unbeatable if they're healthy and at their best.

However, St. Louis' Keith Tkachuk left Joe Louis Arena impressed.

"They're a great hockey team, there's no question about it," Tkachuk said. "Now they're sitting in a great situation and we're going home."

Dominik Hasek, who wanted to come to Detroit to win a Stanley Cup, has three shutouts, three poor performances and has been solid in five of the Wings' 11 playoff games.

He said the key to his play, and that of his teammates, is to earn an early lead.

"It's easier when you have the lead," Hasek said. "I can feel it."

After watching comfortable leads disappear in the third periods of Games 2 and 4 against the Blues, the Red Wings padded their 2-0 lead with two third-period goals in Game 6.

"We really stressed that we can't sit back when we have the lead anymore," said Brendan Shanahan, who scored both third-period goals after assisting on the first two. "We can't just get to the red line and dump the puck in if we have the lead in the third period. We have to keep the pressure on."

Detroit's stars get a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but its role players are talented and gritty enough to help beat teams too.

In Saturday's 4-0 win, Jiri Fischer and Tomas Holmstrom gave the Red Wings control of the game with goals in the second period.

In previous playoff games, other lesser-known players such as Mathieu Dandenault, Boyd Devereaux and Kris Draper have shown they're capable of scoring when teams focus too much on Detroit's stars.

"Whenever we can produce and take pressure off our key guys, we're an even more dangerous team," Devereaux said.

Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said both the Sharks and Avalanche are dangerous teams as well.

"Each team brings a different challenge," Bowman said. "They've demonstrated in their series the ability to score a lot of goals. It's going to be a big test facing either team, for sure."