The Nashville Predators welcomed in the Detroit Red Wings to Bridgestone Arena after an extended break during the Christmas holiday. The Red Wings was the first team to get on the scoreboard as Brendan Smith scored at 5:34 of the first period. Filip Forsberg would respond 45 seconds later with a beautiful wrist shot for his eighth goal of the season.
The start of the second period would be dominated by the Red Wings. Craig Smith would be called for tipping against Pavel Datsyuk. Detroit would take advantage of the man-advantage as Riley Sheahan scored a power-play goal at 2:55 to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead.
Nashville would be able to respond and Filip Forsberg would get his second of the game at 17:11 of the second period.
With a 2-2 tie, the entire game would come down to the third period. The only goal of the period would be for the Detroit Red Wings. Nashville had many chances to score, but to no avail. Luke Glendening scored at 6:45 for the game-winning goal to give Detroit the 3-2 win.
Tonight, the Preds welcome in the New York Rangers to Bridgestone Arena.
Keys to Watch
Top 5 Offense
The New York Rangers come in to Nashville with the fifth ranked offense in the NHL. Currently, the Rangers have a total of 103 goals on the season and 2.86 goals for per game played. They are also ranked fifth in power-play percentage at 21.6%. Nashville will have to contend with the New York high-powered offense. The Rangers can be dominating and the Preds defense will have to be on top of their game. Pekka Rinne will play an vital role in the Preds ability to stop this offense.
Fisher’s back!
Needless to say, the Nashville Predators have missed the play of Mike Fisher since he has been out. It was widely reported on social media Sunday that Fisher will return on Monday against the Rangers. Fisher has been out over the past 11 games. Fisher hasn’t played since 12/1 against the Arizona Coyotes. He is an important part of this team, not only as a part of the leadership, but also on face-offs and being physical. The Predators have missed the style of play that Fisher brings. It will be good to see him back in the lineup and to see what kind of production he will bring after his extended absence. On the season, Mike Fisher has played in 24 games, five goals, two assists, with a shot percentage of 14.70%.
Forsberg
Filip Forsberg was in rare form on Saturday night against Detroit. Not only did he score the only goals for the Preds, he was playing very aggressive on the defensive side of the puck. Forsberg has got to play more consistent for Nashville. He has played well this year, but somewhat down from last year’s rookie season in the NHL. Forsberg is currently third on the team with 24 points, tied for third with nine goals, and tied for third with 15 assists.
The Preds will look to rectify the issues and welcome Kevin Klein, Henrik Lundqvist, and the New York Rangers to Bridgestone Arena. You can catch all of the action on Fox Sports-Tennessee or you can listen live on 102.5 The Game.
