Red Wings hold back the Predators 3-1 on the road

Luke Witkowski #28 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his goal with teammates against Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on February 17, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings had a late scare but held their composure to come out victorious at Bridgestone Arena Saturday night. Detroit made up for a dismal start to their light trip away and brought home a win beating the Nashville Predators 3-1. Petr Mrazek who nearly had his fourth shutout stopped 31 on the night for his eighth victory.

Detroit’s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t give them a lot of confidence left to continue their short road trip. Despite the woes, one had to be played against the Predators who were just short of the division lead where a victory against the Red Wings would put them in first alone. They’re 5-1-2 in their last eight even with the Winnipeg Jets. With the need to produce goals once again, Detroit would try to finish the road trip strong and build some momentum to get into contention.

Despite being down three shots to none through four minutes, a breakaway attempt went to Luke Witkowski became the statement to begin the first period. Witkowski jumped to the open ice gaining possession to deliver a backhander for the first of his NHL career. The Predators started to pick up the pace in their scoring chances to level the game at one all. Five shots were taken by Nashville who launched the puck at Mrazek in net only to come up short before a game break.

As the game went on, there was no sign of leverage on who carried the pace but Detroit made it their game to hold with Nick Jensen giving his team a 2-0 lead. His shot from the blue line got deflected by Gustav Nyquist near the Nashville that gave the Swede his 16^th.  With two teammates on the board, it inspired others to get themselves on the scoresheet. Trevor Daley was one who rifled a shot from far back but missed wide.

The first power play went to the Predators with five minutes to go having trouble getting it across the offensive blue line. They managed two shots but couldn’t convert on the man advantage. Detroit kept their defense on lock to finish out 20 minutes with the two-goal margin in hand. Detroit leveled with them at seven shots apiece but behind on the faceoff winning 4 of every 10. They showed the Predators that they were ready to be physical and contained giving away the puck too much.

Nashville knew that something had to come of their power while on home ice and proved a point with control and lengthy puck possession. They created eight shots through nine minutes of play but saw Detroit’s Witkowski surging to get a second goal of the night. He had a shot with Nyquist trying to shoot one flat sticked. He couldn’t lock it down but as Witkowski got it, he nearly had Nashville goaltender Jusse Saros beaten.

Kevin Fiala tried to fire up the Predators after putting a shot that Mrazek nearly didn’t get to in the air. Detroit managed to save it from changing the tide they controlled and hunted further opportunities. Detroit hustled to regain their lead on shots to the net but were coming up short with less than three minutes in the period. They successfully killed off a penalty while Mrazek handled the shots that he could actually make saves on.

Detroit went back to pressuring the Nashville zone taking away the puck from the Predators to catch Saros off guard. Andreas Athanasiou almost had one but the read from the Finnish netminder kept the game at status quo. Detroit got their first man advantage with 11 seconds left but couldn’t get anything clean as the horn sounded.

Nashville knew that getting on the puck well was their only chance to save their night at home but started the third down a man. They earned one shorthanded opportunity but couldn’t get a clear shot. The Predators ended Detroit’s power play but struggled to get their offense running at a higher rate. Detroit set the pace albeit slower than the second and kept their margin of victory alive and well through the midpoint with ten to go in regulation.

While Nashville looked good on overall pucks to the net, they were in danger of being shutout with six minutes in the game. With a bad penalty going to the Red Wings, they achieved an amazing play to occur. Gaining possession in the neutral zone from P.K. Subban’s stretch pass, Craig Smith took off with the puck at Mrazek scoring over his left shoulder to end what would have been his fourth shutout of the season. It was Smith’s 17^th of the year and Saro’s second assist as a goaltender.

With the Predators alive and the energy high in their arena, getting the game tied was essential to make happen with 3:42 in the game and a goal separating them. The Red Wings had a huge chance to regain their two-goal lead with a third power play just as they had a lot of good work coming from their first two lines. A bad call for holding sent things to 4 on 4 with Saros awaiting the call to skate off for the fifth man. Coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout to regroup his team and conduct a play to send the match into overtime.

With 90 seconds to go, the Predators went 5 on 4 in the Detroit zone but was covered by Detroit who got the puck where Darren Helm slid the puck from the boards and into the net for his seventh. The final 1:19 were no hope for the Central division leaders who finished the game remaining in a tie with no points to be earned.

Mrazek has an unbeaten streak against Nashville with a save percentage of .969 going 44:35 with a shutout. "It's great to see Petr battling as hard as he did back there so it's nice for him to get the win too," Nyquist said after the game to Fox Sports Detroit reporter Trevor Thompson. The team overall has beaten the Predators 9-2-0 in their last 11 meetings. While the Red Wings celebrate an overall hard-fought win, they’ll get no rest as they return home to host the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday night.