Ellis stops 38 shots, Predators beat Wings
Published 4:00 am Saturday, December 27, 2008
- Detroit Red Wings center Kris Draper (33) loses his helmet but still fights Nashville Predators right wing Wade Belak (3) for the puck in the first period of the game in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday. Behind Draper is Red Wings right wing Kirk Maltby (18).
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Playing the Detroit Red Wings usually brings out the best in the Nashville Predators. This time, the first meeting of the season between the Central Division rivals helped the Predators find their offense once again.
Defenseman Kevin Klein scored a power-play goal, Vern Fiddler added a goal late in the second period, and the Predators held off Detroit 3-2 on Friday night. Defenseman Greg Zanon also scored, Martin Erat had two assists, and Dan Ellis stopped 38 shots in the Predators’ best scoring night since Dec. 13.
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Nashville came in offensively challenged after managing just 22 goals over the past 13 games and going 2-2-1 over the past five.
“We’ve been struggling on our power play lately, and I think that goal was as big as any goal tonight,” Fiddler said. “Another goal from Zanon, plus we played really well and we got the lead, and it helped.”
Nashville coach Barry Trotz said a lot of teams ramp up for the defending Stanley Cup champs.
“It has been a tough stretch for us … in terms of goal scoring lately and if we weren’t hitting it off the post, we were hitting it off the crest. Tonight we went to the net hard, and we got rewarded for that. That’s how you score in this league. That’s how Detroit scores,” Trotz said.
Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson scored for Detroit, which came in having won eight of 10.
Nashville always plays the Red Wings tough, especially so in the teams’ first meeting since Detroit needed six games to knock the Predators out of the playoffs last spring. The Predators also had only the second sellout crowd of the season.
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“Anytime you play a team you beat out the year before in the playoffs, especially the first one, it is always going to be a real competitive game,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.
Detroit came in ranked second in the NHL with the man advantage. The Red Wings went zero-for-three on the power play, including the final 1:28 with Ty Conklin pulled for the extra attacker. Nashville has killed 19 consecutive penalties and 37 of 40.
It didn’t help that the Red Wings lost defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom early in the second when he took a puck off his ankle. Babcock said an X-ray was negative but Lidstrom couldn’t return.
“It is certainly going to hurt any lineup,” Conklin said. “You got the best defenseman in the world your team is going to notice him.”
Also on Friday:
Capitals 3
Sabres 2
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin, Viktor Kozlov and Boyd Gordon scored goals, and Jose Theodore made 22 saves in Washington’s victory over Buffalo.
Islanders 4
Maple Leafs 1
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Bill Guerin scored twice to reach 400 goals, Rick DiPietro made 28 saves in his first game since late October, and New York snapped a 10-game losing streak with a victory over Toronto.
Hurricanes 5
Thrashers 4
ATLANTA — Eric Staal scored three goals in a 4:31 span of the third period for Carolina to overshadow Bryan Little’s first career hat trick.
Lightning 4
Panthers 3
SUNRISE, Fla. — Ryan Malone beat backup goalie Craig Anderson with a wrist shot to give Tampa Bay a shootout victory over Florida in the first game of a home-and-home series.
Blackhawks 5
Flyers 1
CHICAGO — Patrick Sharp scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season and Chicago won it’s eighth straight to match the franchise record, beating Philadelphia.
Oilers 3
Canucks 2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Shawn Horcoff and Sheldon Souray scored on five-on-three power plays, and Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves in Edmonton’s victory over Vancouver. Mason Raymond and Kyle Wellwood scored for Vancouver.
Coyotes 2
Kings 1
LOS ANGELES — Peter Mueller ended a 21-game goal drought, and Shane Doan scored on a power play, leading Phoenix to a victory over Los Angeles.
Penguins 1
Devils 0
NEWARK, N.J. — Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for Pittsburgh’s first shutout of the season, and Ruslan Fedotenko scored midway through the second period in the Penguins’ victory over New Jersey.