Despite Nashville dominating statistically, Dylan Larkin and Filip Hronek capitalized on key chances while Ville Husso shut out the Predators.
The Nashville Predators traveled to Little Caesars Arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight in their second of four games this week.
The Red Wings are 5-3-2 in their last ten games including wins in their last two games in which they scored a combined 13 goals.
Dylan Larkin and Dominik Kubalik lead the Red Wings in points and goals, but the youth movement has gained momentum as the season's gone on. Lucas Raymond has six goals on the season, and Moritz Seider finally got his first goal of the game last week. Ville Husso has been a reliable goaltender for the Red Wings this season and started tonight in net.
The Predators welcomed back Mark Jankowski to the lineup who missed the last two games due to injury. Kevin Lankinen got the nod in net tonight for the Predators Hynes made a few adjustments to the lines before tonight's game.
The Predators have earned nine of ten points in their last five games, but each of those wins came with just a one goal difference.
Game Recap
It was a bit of a messy start to the game from the repeated initial puck drop through the first half of the opening period. Nashville struggled with inaccurate passes and didn't get any extended offensive zone time until halfway through the period. The pace of the game was fast but the execution by both teams was too messy to break through. Nashville finally pressured offensively with a handful of quality chances from several of the lines, but the teams headed to the locker rooms with no score after one.
The second period started with Detroit pressuring offensively. Kevin Lankinen was able to make solid plays to clear and save the puck, but a turnover in the neutral zone led to a goal by Dylan Larkin at 4:08.
Nashville received the first chance on the power play as Moritz Seider headed to the penalty box for a tripping call at 7:48. Ben Chiarot threw the puck over the glass during the power play, and Nashville had a 5 on 3 opportunity for 1:23. The Preds peppered Husso but couldn't get the puck past the Detroit net minder.
Alexandre Carrier headed to the box at 13:06 for a trip giving the Red Wings their chance on the man advantage. The Red Wings moved the puck quickly around the net and eventually sent a shot past Lankinen at 14:16 to make it a 2-0 game.
Cole Smith drew an interference penalty at 17:28, but the first high danger chances of the following two minutes came for the Red Wings on a two on one and high danger chances off that play. Lankinen protected the Preds' goals from those threats, but Nashville couldn't get anything past Husso on the man advantage. With :09 left in the second period, Michael McCarron was called for an illegal check to the head, and the Red Wings finished the period on the power play again.
The final period began with Detroit still up a man for the first 1:51, but the Preds were able to kill off the penalty. The first half of the final period belonged to the goaltenders as both Husso and Lankinen came up with huge stops for their respective teams.
The third period pace was dominated by a Predators push. Filip Forsberg tried everything short of hand carrying the puck past Husso in the final minutes of the game. With just under 2:30 left to play, the Predators went empty net and added an extra skater. With less than a remaining, Michael Rasmussen scored an empty net goal, and the Red Wings defeated the Preds 3-0.
Game Notes
1. Goaltending wins games. Kevin Lankinen played well for the Predators, but Ville Husso was absolutely dialed in for the Red Wings.
2. Missing out on the five on three opportunity in the second changed the momentum of that period. It was a huge missed opportunity for the Predators, and the kill gave the Red Wings a boost they ultimately capitalized on.
3. If only statistics decided games. Nashville led in high danger chances, expected goals for, and corsi for, but a hot goaltender and an opportunistic Red Wings team ultimately got the win.