The Central Division rival Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators met for just the second time this season Tuesday night in Tennessee. The result was 5-3, which is about the score you'd expect, except when you drop Pavel Datsyuk's late empty-netter.
The Wings outshot the Predators 51-21, but came disturbingly close to losing. They led 3-0 after five minutes into the second period, but the game was within a goal of being tied by a minute after the halfway mark. Detroit pulled head again, only to see the Predators come within one goal, again. What should have been a clear-cut win turned out to be in doubt until the final minute.
The Wings' main issue was an obvious loss of concentration. They let up defensively and the Predators nearly made them pay. Credit to Nashville for being opportunistic, but had the Wings played the defense they're supposed to, the opportunities wouldn't have been there. The second Joel Ward goal was just the worst example of defensive breakdowns of the night. He burned Brian Rafalski and beat Ty Conklin to the post on a play that never should hve happened.
A few Wings had solid nights, namely Marian Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg. The latter two had a pair of goals each, while Hossa's one could have easily been joined by a couple more had the bounces gone more his way. Zetterberg and Datsyuk continue to play together, as they have since Zetterberg's return to the lineup, and it's paying off. Hossa has good linemates, but has been so strong lately that he looks like something of a one-man show out there.
Conklin continues to answer the goaltending question in Detroit, though three goals against last night won't look good on his record. He really only looked bad on the second Ward goal, which required a big save he couldn't come up with. Otherwise, he looked sharp, but despite that, I'm guessing Chris Osgood starts Thursday against Minnesota.
The Wings still have a lot of work to do to get themselves into a place where they can be successful in the playoffs. The most important thing at the moment is the penalty kill, which had a bit of a relapse last night after some solid efforts the past few games. One PPG allowed to the 29th-ranked power play in the NHL going into the game (now 28th) is not a good thing.
The team showed this weekend that it can get up to play big-name opponents like Pittsburgh. Thursday they'll need to show that they can do the same for mid-range opponents. Although they pulled out the win, in my book, they failed the test against Nashville by allowing the Preds to get back into the game.
