Not much went right for the Red Wings in the first period of tonight’s Western Conference quarterfinal game with Nashville.
Paul Gaustad, after not scoring in 14 games with Nashville, put a pass into the goal via the skate of Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart to give the Predators the 1-0 edge and it was all downhill from there. The majority of the period was played in the Red Wings’ zone as Nashville looked hot from the start while the Red Wings looked lethargic and out of it.
Detroit took four penalties in the first period, but managed to kill off all them against Nashville’s top-ranked power play. That’s the one positive to take from a period that was largely played in the Predators end. That was evident in the shots on goal, as Detroit only put five on Pekka Rinne while Nashville was peppering Jimmy Howard with 13 shots.
Howard was big for the Red Wings, making several big saves to keep his team in the game early.
Nashville was able to dominate the play by dominating the faceoff circle, owning a 14-7 edge there.
The Red Wings have to find something to go right or this game is going to go in the wrong direction quick.
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