NHL Game Summary - Detroit at Nashville
(Tuesday, February 19th)
Final Score: Nashville 4, Detroit 3 (OT)
Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Shea Weber scored 44 seconds into overtime to
give the Nashville Predators a 4-3 victory over the slumping Detroit Red Wings
in a Central Division clash from Bridgestone Arena.
Weber added an assist on Craig Smith's first-period tally, while Colin Wilson
recorded a pair of helpers to aid in the Predators halting a two-game skid.
Gabriel Bourque and Roman Josi also had goals for Nashville, which received 26
saves out of goaltender Pekka Rinne as well.
"He's scored in three straight games here for us," said Nashville head coach
Barry Trotz about Weber. "He's a great talent for us and once he gets going
it's really tough to stop him."
Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary both had a goal and an assist for Detroit, with
Datsyuk's marker tying the contest at 3-3 with 6:30 remaining in the third
period. Former Predator Jordin Tootoo also lit the lamp in the loss, the Red
Wings' fourth in a row.
Detroit's Jonas Gustavsson made 16 saves in relief of Jimmy Howard, who exited
with an upper-body injury in the first period after letting in two goals on
only seven shots.
"He got hit in practice I guess, and I didn't know about that," Red Wings
coach Mike Babcock said of Howard. "He wasn't seeing good, or something like
that. I was watching the game and someone told me. We made the switch and
tried to buy some time for Gus to get ready and put him in."
Josi gave Nashville a 3-2 edge by firing a perfectly-placed shot from far out
near the left boards that whistled past Gustavsson's glove with 7:06 left in
regulation. The lead would be short-lived, however.
Just 36 seconds later, Datsyuk rushed up the center of the ice with a head of
steam and bulled through two Nashville defenders before sending a wrister by
Rinne for his eighth goal of the season.
The Predators couldn't convert on a power-play opportunity prior to OT, but
cashed in less than a minute into extra time.
Wilson shot wide on an attempt after skating aggressively up the ice, but the
puck caromed around the net and right to a trailing Weber, who found an
opening along the right corner for the game-winning score.
Nashville started out the first period strongly as well, getting goals from
Smith and Bourque to build a 2-0 advantage just past the midway stage of the
session.
With Detroit's Jakub Kindl in the box for interference, Wilson set up Smith
with an on-point centering pass across the crease just 5:01 in. Bourque made
it a two-goal margin at 10:41 by re-directing Scott Hannan's blast from the
left point past Howard.
Datsyuk and Cleary began to turn the momentum around by teaming up for a
critical shorthanded score just under five minutes prior to the first
intermission. Datsyuk stole the puck from behind the net and sent it out to
Cleary, who snapped a wrister into the net to put the Red Wings on the board.
It remained a 2-1 game until the third period, when Tootoo scored from the
right circle after cradling in Henrik Zetterberg's pass on a Detroit rush with
8:27 left in the frame.
Game Notes
Tootoo played eight seasons for the Predators before joining the Red Wings as
a free agent over the summer, and was appearing at Bridgestone Arena for the
first time in a visiting uniform ... Weber extended his point streak to four
games and has notched three goals and three assists during that stretch ...
Nashville went 1-of-6 on the power play and Detroit ended 0-of-2 with the man
advantage ... Nashville center Paul Gastad missed the contest with an upper-
body injury he suffered in Monday's loss to Colorado ... Nashville acquired
minor league defenseman Scott Ford from St. Louis in exchange for forward Jani
Lajunen on Tuesday.
02/20 03:04:44 ET

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