Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Nashville Predators/Detroit Red Wings Preview And Notes

01/17/2015 at 10:57am EST

via John Manasso at NHL.com,

Season series: The Nashville Predators swept two games against the Detroit Red Wings last season. Predators forward Colin Wilson had two goals and one assist, center Mike Fisher had one goal and two assists, and goalie Marek Mazanec won each game. Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg and defenseman Niklas Kronwall each had two assists.

Predators team scope: Forward James Neal, who missed five games with a lower-body injury, has four points in two games since returning to the lineup, including two goals in a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday. Nashville has won five in a row. Wilson had a four-game point streak end Friday. Forward Eric Nystrom, on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury, participated in the morning skate Friday and is getting close to returning. In his past 21 games, center Mike Ribeiro has 21 points (17 assists), including eight assists in his past seven games. Defenseman Seth Jones scored his second goal in his past six games Friday. Mazanec, who was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Thursday because No. 1 goalie Pekka Rinne is injured, has not played in the NHL since Jan. 12, 2014.

Red Wings team scope: With goalies Jimmy Howard (groin) and Jonas Gustavsson (shoulder) injured, Petr Mrazek has started the past four games (3-1-0) for Detroit. Mrazek did not allow more than two goals in any of those games. The Red Wings have won four of their past five, and they have lost three times in regulation in their past 11 games (7-3-1). Zetterberg, who has been held without a point the past three games, needs two points to tie Norm Ullman for seventh in Red Wings history. Detroit's power play has been streaky. It is 1-for-10 over the past three games, but was 4-for-8 in the previous two. Penalty-killing has not been a strength lately for the Red Wings, who have allowed at least one power-play goal in four of the past six games (five overall). Center Pavel Datsyuk has three goals and six assists in his past 11 games. Forward Tomas Tatar has scored a goal in each of his past two games and has a three-game point streak. Detroit has won 31 of 44 games all-time against Nashville at Joe Louis Arena.

TEAM STATS
GP RECORD HOME ROAD L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
Nashville Predators 43 30-9-4 18-2-1 12-7-3 8-0-2 3.02 2.19 15.5 80.6 8.3 31.9 28.8 47.7
Detroit Red Wings 44 24-11-9 13-4-6 11-7-3 7-3-0 2.77 2.32 23.6 86.1 8.3 30.5 26.9 54.3

DETROIT RED WINGS

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 88th all-time meeting between DET and NSH
- Tonight is the 1st of 2 meetings this season between DET and NSH, only meeting in DET
- NSH won both games in the 2013-14 season series (NSH won 2-0 on 11/19 and 6-4 on 12/30)
- DET’s all-time record vs. NSH: 49-25-4-8
- DET’s all-time home record vs. NSH: 29-8-2-5
- Pavel Datsyuk has 69 points (21-48-69) in 63 games vs. NSH
- Drew Miller has 12 points (7-5-12) in 24 games vs. NSH
- Henrik Zetterberg has 49 points (17-32-49) in 58 games vs. NSH
- Niklas Kronwall has 20 points (3-17-20) in 47 games vs. NSH
- Stephen Weiss has 6 points (1-5-6) in 10 games vs. NSH
- NSH’s top all-time scorers vs. DET: Shea Weber (10-13-23 in 47 GP), Mike Ribeiro (7-13-20 in 25 GP), Olli Jokinen (9-6-15 in 30 GP) and Mike Fisher (4-10-14 in 22 GP)
- NSH F Calle Jarnkrok was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2nd round (51st overall) by of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2012-14. He was traded to NSH on 3/5/14 as part of a deal that brought David Legwand to DET
- NSH F James Neal had 173 points (68-105-173) in 187 GP with the Plymouth Whalers from 2003-07
- NSH F Eric Nystrom had 111 points (56-55-111) in 160 games with the University of Michigan from 2001-05 and played for the US NTDP from 1999-01
- NSH F Colin Wilson skated for the US NTDP from 2005-07
- NSH D Seth Jones played for the US NTDP from 2010-12

LEAGUE LEADERS

Datsyuk: T19th with 6 PPG, T7th with 4 GWG, T16th with a 16.9 SH%, T18th with 54.9 FO%
Glendening: 11th with 55.8 FO%
Kronwall: 24th with 23:49 TOI
Nyquist: T23rd with 16 goals, T3rd with 9 PPG, T7th with 4 GWG
Sheahan: T28th with 53.3 FO%
Tatar: T14th with 18 goals, T29th with 6 PPG, T7th with 4 GWG
Zetterberg: T16th with 26 assists, 16th with 139 shots, 30th with 52.8 FO%
TEAM: 3rd in goals against/game (2.32), 4th on power play (23.6%), 5th on penalty kill (86.1%), T2nd in shots against/game (26.9)

RECENT/UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Kronwall stands 18th in franchise history with 250 assists after picking up a helper on 1/6 at EDM, passing Nick Libett
- Franzen played in his 600th NHL game on 1/6 at EDM
- Zetterberg played in his 800th NHL game on 1/7 at CGY
- Weiss played in his 700th NHL game on 1/13 at BUF
- Glendening played his 100th NHL game on 1/15 at STL
- Abdelkader’s next goal is his 50th in the NHL
- Datsyuk’s next assist is his 550th career helper
- Nyquist is 2 goals away from 50
- Babcock is 2 games away from 750 with DET, which will also tie him with Toe Blake for 28th in NHL history in games coached (914)
- 2 more wins will give DET 2,800 as a franchise
- Datsyuk is 4 games shy of tying Nick Libett (861) for 12th in DET history in games played (5 games shy of tying Ted Lindsay at 862)

THIS DATE IN RED WINGS HISTORY

January 17, 1996 – Steve Yzerman registers his 500th NHL career goal in a 3-2 victory over Colorado.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

TOTAL MAN-GAMES LOST DUE TO INJURY/SUSPENSION: 100
Ryan Ellis is on IR with a lower-body injury and will be reevaluated following the All-Star Break.
Eric Nystrom is on IR with an upper-body injury.
Pekka Rinne is out 3-5 weeks with a sprained knee.

ON A ROLL

With their win on Friday vs. Washington, Nashville set a franchise record for fewest games to 30 wins, achieving the mark in 43 games played. The previous record was held by the 2006-07 squad that recorded their 30th win in their 44th game.
The Preds have claimed points in each of their last 10 games (8-0-2), a streak that includes their current, season-high, five-game winning streak. Nashville’s win over the Caps was its seventh straight at home, just one shy of tying the franchise record of eight consecutive home victories, set Jan.6-Feb. 8, 2007.

BACK-TO-BACK

Saturday vs. Detroit is the second stop of the Preds fifth back-to-back series of the season, and the first back-to-back this season that has begun with a game at home. On the season, the Preds are 4-0-1 on the front end of these two-game series and 1-1-2 on the back. Most recently, Nashville took three of a possible four points (1-0-1) in back-to-back contests in Southern California (Jan. 3 vs. L.A and Jan. 4 vs. ANA).
Nashville has six remaining back-to-back games on its schedule, including consecutive Central Division games on Jan. 29 and 30 (STL and COL) and three separate instances of back-to-back games against Eastern Conference opponents.

THE WEBER WAY

On Friday vs. Washington, Shea Weber recorded three shots on goal and a team-high five hits in 26:22 TOI. This season, Weber leads Preds dmen in points (10g-19a) and sits tied for ninth overall among NHL dmen in the category. The first player to captain the Preds for more than four full seasons, Weber continuously sits atop both the Preds and NHL leaderboards.
• Has 14 points (4g-10a) in his past 16 games.
• Was the fifth Preds player, and first dman, to hit double-digit goals this season.
• Tied for third among all NHL dmen in goals (10).
• Averages 26:25 TOI, leading the Preds and sitting in fourth among all NHL skaters.

PLAYER QUICK HITS

• Pekka Rinne, who is currently out three to five weeks with a sprained knee, leads the NHL with 29 wins. His 1.96 GAA is also first and his .931 save percentage is second among all goalies.
• Rinne’s win Tuesday vs. Vancouver marked his second six-game win streak of the season.
• Filip Forsberg leads the Preds, and NHL rookies in points with 39 (15g-24a) through 43 games this season.
• In his last 21 games, Mike Ribeiro has 21 points (4g-17a), including eight assists in his last seven games.
• Ribeiro’s 29 assists this season leads the Preds and is tied for ninth overall in the NHL.
• Ryan Ellis had five points (2g-3a) in his last four games prior to sustaining an injury last Thursday vs. Dallas that placed him on IR.
• Roman Josi leads Preds dmen in assists (20) and sits in the Top 20 among the League.
• Josi has blocked 111 shots this season, a team high and tied for fourth in the NHL.
• Craig Smith has eight points (5g-3a) in his last 12 games.
• Mattias Ekholm is averaging 18:30 TOI this season, fifth on the Preds, compared to the 16:49 he averaged a season ago.
• Paul Gaustad leads the team and is fourth in the NHL in FO percentage (57.6 percent).

TEAM QUICK HITS

• Going back eight games, the Preds have killed off 22 of the last 26 opponent PPs.
• In the last nine weeks, the Preds PK has improved from 28th in the NHL (70.3 percent, Nov. 6 vs. DAL) to 17th (80.6 percent).
• Nashville has tallied 10 PPGs in its last 10 games after only scoring nine in the previous 23 contests.
• On the season, Nashville’s record stands at 11-3-3 with a PPG and 19-6-1 without.
• Nashville has responded to each of its nine regulation and three OT/shootout losses this season with a win, having yet to lose two games in a row.
• The Preds have won 13 times after giving up the first goal (13-8-2 overall record), second in the NHL in the category.
• Nashville’s winning percentage (.833) when outshooting its opponent is tops in the NHL (20-4-0).
• The Preds are averaging 32.0 shots per game, third in the NHL.
• The Preds are 17-1-2 when scoring first this season and 12-1-2 when tied after 40 minutes of play.
• Nashville is 12-3-2 against their own Central Division.
• In one-goal games, the Preds have a record of 19-4-4.
• Nashville has a 29-4-3 record when scoring at least two goals and a 23-2-1 record when holding the opposition to two goals or fewer.
• The Preds are tied for first in the NHL in GAA (2.19).
• Nashville owns the top spot in the NHL in goals for/against ratio when five-on-five (1.56).

STORYLINES VS. DETROIT

The Predators travel to the Motor City to take on their former Central Division rival Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. All-time, Nashville is 34-41-(4)-8 vs. Detroit and 13-24-(2)-5 as the visiting squad. After meeting at least four times in each of the first 14 years of the Preds existence, the two teams met only twice last season following the NHL’s conference realignment, with Nashville taking home victories in both games.
When Nashville last traveled to Joe Louis Arena on Nov. 19, 2013, Marek Mazanec turned aside all 27 shots he faced to record his first career shutout. Shea Weber posted the game-winning power-play goal with five ticks remaining in the second period, and Gabriel Bourque added an insurance marker in the third, as the Preds defeated the Wings, 2-0.
Last season’s matchup in Nashville, and the most recent meeting between the two franchises, took place more than a year ago on Dec. 30, 2013. In that game, Nashville’s Colin Wilson opened the high-scoring contest with a goal 1:54 into the game. Outside of two straight goals from the Preds to end the first and start the second, the team’s traded goals throughout the game. Roman Josi sealed the 6-4 victory for Nashville with his empty-net goal with 19 seconds remaining.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

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