Red Wings out play Nashville to take a series 1-0 lead

Red Wings appear in top form

Detroit out played Nashville in both ends of the ice. The Predators played strong for about the first half of the first period and then started turning over the puck. The Predators were having trouble getting the puck out of their zone and when they did manage to gain the Detroit zone cycled very well but only managed 20 shots for three periods of action.

See the game summary sheet here.

From the AP.

DETROIT (AP) -Henrik Zetterberg broke a tie at 6:54 of the third period and added an empty-net goal, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night in the postseason opener for both teams.

Dominik Hasek, playing in his 116th playoff game, made 19 saves for the top-seeded Wings and Dan Ellis stopped 37 shots for the Predators before being pulled with just over a minute left.

Detroit’s Johan Franzen scored in the first period and Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo tied it late in the second.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Saturday in Detroit.

A couple minutes after Nashville’s Vernon Fiddler hit a post on a shot in the third period, the Red Wings’ 90-point stars combined to break a tie and energize Joe Louis Arena.

Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk prevented Shea Weber from clearing the puck to set up the tiebreaking goal. Then, Datsyuk made a cross-ice pass from the left circle to perfectly set up Zetterberg’s one-timer that hit the back of the net before Ellis could slide over or get his glove on it.

Ellis kept the Predators in the game, though, by making 26 saves entering the final period with the score tied 1-all.

After Radek Bonk got out of the penalty box, a loose puck went off his stick directly to Franzen in front of the net at 5:58 of the first period.

Tootoo scored on a deflected shot with 2:13 left in the second.

The Red Wings, who led the NHL in points for the third time in four seasons, desperately wanted to get off to a good start in the series after losing as a top-seeded team just two years ago.

They have won the Presidents’ Trophy six times - three times more than any other franchise - since 1995, but have followed up with a Stanley Cup only once.

Nashville, meanwhile, accomplished something by just getting into the playoffs after the roster was trimmed following uncertainty about the franchise’s future. The Predators went 5-0-1 to secure the last spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Source: AP-NHL.com