The Detroit Red Wings had the best home record in all of hockey, but that did little to help them against the Nashville Predators. Now they have to bail themselves out on the road in Game Five of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Predators snapped Detroit’s 23-game home win streak and now have a chance to snap its championship hopes at home on Friday. Getting surprise performances from some of their younger players, the Predators can close out the series tonight.
If they do, it will exorcise some serious demons. Detroit eliminated Nashville in 2004 and 2008. The Red Wings haven’t been bounced in the first round since 2006.
”Our backs are against the wall,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard said. ”We all know the circumstances if we lose we start our summer. I don’t think anybody wants that in this room.”
Rookie Gabriel Borque has a series-high three goals so far while defensemen Kevin Klien has goals in back-to-back goals for the first time ever. Nashville has relied on a passive approach throughout the series, and did again in Game Three. Detroit outshot the Predators 28-to-10 through the first two periods of Wednesday night’s match, but ended up losing 3-1.
”They were shooting until their arms got tired in the first two periods,” Predators center David Legwand said.
It also helps when goaltender Pikka Renne led the league in shots faced and wins during the regular season. Detroit had 84 shots to Nashville’s 39 in its two games at home, but only netted three of those. Bovada’s NHL Player Props is projecting Renne’s total saves to be around 28 1/2 tonight.
“The bottom line is, we spent a ton of time in their zone and we had the puck a lot,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “Their goaltender was the difference. We’ve got to find a way to get it past him.”
Rinne isn’t letting his success distract him.
”They’ve been there and done that, and they have the experience and veteran players who have seen those kinds of situations and been through them,” Rinne said. ”We have to really be prepared for it and treat it as game number one or any other game. The team that wants is more is going to get it.”
That’s been head coach Berry Trotz’s message all along. The Predators finished higher in the standings than Detroit for the first time ever and can’t let that momentum distract.
”You are in survival mode,” Trotz said. ”It is no different than someone who is surviving for their life type of thing. You have that fear factor. You have that desperation. You have that adrenaline factor that kicks in. It is one of those things that is hard. They have a great team and they have a great tradition. We have to match everything that they have and then some.”
The Predators are favored by 1 1/2, according to Bovada, with a -120 moneyline.