Detroit is the prey for Nashville's 6th in row
Detroit is the prey for Nashville's 6th in row
The Nashville Predators are healthy and confident. They're also playing the best hockey in the NHL.
Martin Erat scored twice and Nashville beat the visiting Detroit Red Wings, 3-1, last night for its sixth straight victory. The streaking Predators finished off a five-game homestand in style and have won 10 of 12 overall, a stretch that started with the return of J.P. Dumont to the top line with Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan.
"We're just playing better and just putting everything together," Erat said. "The power play's playing better. The penalty kill is doing better, and 5-on-5, they don't score any goals against us."
The Predators beat the best team in the West in San Jose and the East in New Jersey during this homestand, and they finished off this latest win in regulation for the first time in three games.
"It's been kind of growing and growing," Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne said. "The confidence is the biggest thing and right now we have a good thing going, and hopefully we can keep it going."
Arnott also scored a power-play goal for Nashville. Rinne, who has been in net for each game during this six-game run, made 16 of his 30 saves in the third period to preserve the win.
"They were all over us," Arnott said. "If it wasn't for Peks, we probably would've ended up losing the game."
Drew Miller scored for Detroit, which has lost three of four.
"We had a lot of opportunities," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought Rinne was really good in net . . . They battled hard, their goaltender was good, and we were unable to finish at their net."
In other games:
* At New York, Marian Gaborik again sparked the Rangers' offense with two goals and two assists, but this time he had lots of long-awaited help in their 7-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
* At Toronto, Dwayne Roloson made 58 saves and Josh Bailey scored in overtime to lift the New York Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs.
* At Ottawa, Mike Fisher scored 1:14 into overtime, giving the Senators a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.
* At St. Louis, Patrice Bergeron had four assists, two on power-play goals and another short-handed, to help the Boston Bruins beat the Blues, 4-2, for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
* At Sunrise, Fla., Sidney Crosby scored on a power play at 3:07 of overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Panthers, 3-2.
* At Edmonton, Jeff Deslauriers made 36 saves for his first NHL shutout, and Sheldon Souray and Ales Hemsky scored a team-record 7 seconds apart to lead the Oilers over the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-0.
* At Dallas, Marty Turco stopped 22 shots for his 38th career shutout, rookie Jamie Benn scored a power-play goal in the first period and the Stars beat Carolina, 2-0.
* At Anaheim, Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 41 saves and Teemu Selanne notched the lone shootout goal to lead the Ducks over Calgary, 3-2.
Noteworthy
* The NHL suspended Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque five games for a hit on Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who will be out 4-to-8 weeks with a sprained left knee.
* Minnesota traded former first-round draft choice Benoit Pouliot to Montreal for left wing Guillaume Latendresse.
* Columbus placed forward Derek Dorsett on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday, when he was hit from behind by Stars forward James Neal, who was suspended two games.
