Nashville 3, Detroit 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Brad Meier
Linesmen:
Scott Driscoll, Brad Kovachik
Attendance:
17113
By SportsDirect Inc.
PREDATORS 3, RED WINGS 2: Rookie Gabriel Bourque scored two goals and Pekka Rinne turned aside 35 shots as host Nashville won the series opener against Detroit.
Paul Gaustad scored his first career postseason goal and the fourth-seeded Predators beat the Red Wings for the third time in just over a month.
Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom scored power-play goals for Detroit, which will look to even the series in Game 2 Friday in Nashville.
The Predators broke on top at 6:59 of the first period when Gaustad flicked a pass in front of the net that caromed off Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart and past goaltender Jimmy Howard. It was Gaustad's first goal since he was acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline.
The Predators held a 13-5 edge in shots in the period and could not convert despite having a 5-on-3 for 74 seconds.
The Red Wings tied it at the 2:29 mark of the second period when Zetterberg converted on the power play, intercepting a clearing attempt off a rebound and shoveling the puck past Rinne for the 50th goal and 100th point of his playoff career.
The Predators went back in front exactly 10 minutes later, again getting a fortunate carom when Matt Halischuk's shot from the left point hit Bourque's stick and knuckled past Howard.
Bourque made it a two-goal cushion at 11:35 of the third, taking a feed from Patric Hornqvist to beat Howard, but Holmstrom made it a tense finish when he swatted a loose puck past Rinne with 2:07 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rinne earned his 12th career win against Detroit. No other active netminder has more than eight. ... Predators defenseman Hal Gill sat out the game due to a lower-body injury suffered when he blocked a shot last week. ... Red Wings C Darren Helm returned to the lineup after missing the last 10 games of the regular season with a sprained left knee, but he suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and was knocked out of the game. ... Danny Cleary (knee) also returned for Detroit aftere sitting out the final two games. ... The team that scored first won five of the six regular-season meetings between the teams.
Top Game Performances
| Detroit |
|
Nashville |
|
Tomas Holmstrom 1 |
Points |
Gabriel Bourque 2 |
|
Tomas Holmstrom 1 |
Goals |
Gabriel Bourque 2 |
|
Valtteri Filppula 1 |
Assists |
Francis Bouillon 1 |
|
Tomas Holmstrom 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Jimmy Howard .885 |
Save Percentage |
Pekka Rinne .946 |
|
Jimmy Howard 23 |
Saves |
Pekka Rinne 35 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Detroit
|
37 |
2 |
2-8 |
6-6 |
14 |
32 |
| Nashville
|
26 |
3 |
0-6 |
6-8 |
20 |
30 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Predators have a W/L % of .542 after a win and .647 after a loss.
-
Detroit will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .694 after a win and .424 after a loss.
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