at DETROIT RED WINGS

April 25th, 2013
Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
6:30 p.m. CDT
TV: FOX Sports Tennessee
Detroit leads season series 2-1

Tonight marks the final time the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings will face each other as Central Division rivals. Detroit is playing to make the playoffs; Nashville is playing because the schedule requires it.

DETROIT RED WINGS

(22-16-8, 3rd in Central)

A win over the Los Angeles Kings last night has the Red Wings in the eighth spot in the Western Conference, clinging to playoff hopes with two games left on the schedule. It’s been 22 years since the Red Wings missed the playoffs, and you know Henrik Zetterberg doesn’t want to be the captain who fails the Detroit faithful.

Key players

It’s been another productive season for Datsyuk and Zetterberg. (PHOTO: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

Henrik Zetterberg (9G-34A) is not only the team’s captain; he’s also tied for its lead in scoring. His point-per-game pace has matched his point total from his second NHL season. In other words, this guy’s good.

Pavel Datsyuk (14G-29A), whose contract is up after next season and who has spoken of returning to Russia, has never missed the playoffs during his career with the Red Wings.

Others to watch

Jimmy Howard (19-13-7, 2.19 GAA, .922 SV%) has picked up points for the Red Wings in six of his last seven starts. Only three of those have been wins, but two of them have come via shutouts.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

(16-21-9, 5th in Central)

Nashville broke an eight-game losing streak last game out against the Calgary Flames. Day late, dollar short, etc. etc.

Players to watch

Better late than never for Mike Fisher. (PHOTO: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

Mike Fisher (9G-10A) was on a roll before he was injured earlier this month, having posted points in eight consecutive games at the end of March before injuring his hand while blocking a shot. He returns to the lineup tonight for the first time since April 6th.

Filip Forsberg has been sent down to the Milwaukee Admirals to help them in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Replacing him on the roster is Joonas Rask, younger brother of Boston goalie Tuukka Rask. This will mark the first NHL game for the younger Rask, who is described by the Preds as a “defensive and faceoff specialist.”

Bottom line

If the Nashville Predators win this game, they put a dent in Detroit’s playoff chances. If they lose, their chances of moving up in Monday’s NHL Draft Lottery improve. Sounds like a win-win from here – and that’s something that’s been in very short supply this year for Preds fans.

Barry Trotz and the Nashville Predators have now lost nine games via shutout this season. (PHOTO: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports)

The Nashville Predators had been shut out more than any other team in the league coming into tonight’s game with the Detroit Red Wings. Now they’ve extended their lead in their dubious category after they couldn’t solve Jimmy Howard on home ice, suffering their ninth shutout loss of the season.

The second period was the real difference in the game. Detroit dominated the flow of the game and outshot Nashville 16-4 in the second. The Preds’ defense actually held up fairly well under the withering Detroit attack before Danny DeKeyser threw a shot wide to the right of Pekka Rinne that bounced straight to Henrik Zetterberg on the other side of a wide-open net for a 1-0 lead.

Nashville kept things close for most of the third period, but a bad turnover in their own zone gave Johan Franzen an easy goal for a 2-0 Detroit lead at 17:01 and an empty-netter at 18:41 sealed the result.

Some observations:

• 

  Filip Forsberg played with David Legwand and Taylor Beck in his first NHL game. (PHOTO: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports)

  Filip Forsberg’s debut with the Nashville Predators was as good as anyone had a right to hope for, with two shots on goal in 18:37 of ice time. Sure, it would have been more storybook if he’d scored a goal, but he’s in it for the long haul. It’s good to see him play an NHL game on next to no rest after traveling halfway around the world and look like he belonged on the ice.

• Taylor Beck was on a line with Forsberg and David Legwand and was easily the most active Preds player throughout the game. Seven of Nashville’s 22 shots on net came off Beck’s stick. He was constantly trying to make something happen and it’s easy to see how effective he’s going to be a year or two down the line when he’s played with the same linemates for a while.
• 

  It was another solid performance in a losing effort tonight for Pekka Rinne. (PHOTO: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

  Pekka Rinne really looked outstanding tonight, stopping 31 of 33 shots the Red Wings threw at him. He was blameless for the two that he gave up, too. The first saw the puck pinball off the end boards straight onto Henrik Zetterberg’s waiting stick while Pekka played the initial shot by Danny DeKeyser, and the second saw Chris Mueller throw a blind pass directly to Johan Franzen, who had position on Shea Weber and lifted a perfect backhand shot to the top shelf.

• Jimmy Howard looked just as good even if he didn’t have to make as many saves as his Nashville counterpart. His work in the first period in particular made the win possible for Detroit, as did a big save on a Matt Halischuk shorthanded breakaway in the second.
• Bobby Butler did great work to draw a penalty shot midway through the game, but the puck slid off his stick as he closed in on Howard and the Detroit goalie didn’t have to make a save.
• With nine shutout losses and five shutout wins, exactly one-third of Nashville’s games this season have seen one team or the other fail to score a goal. Think that will cut down on the number of times NBC Sports Network pencils them into the schedule next season?
• This was Nashville’s sixth straight loss in regulation. Calgary and Colorado are both within striking distance of Nashville and both teams have games in hand. It’s not exactly something to cheer for, but finishing last in the Western Conference would certainly bolster Nashville’s chances of landing the top pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.