Nashville Predators take lead in Quarterfinal Series over Detroit Red Wings 3-2 -NHL Playoffs Update
Nashville’s Sergei Kostitsyn got the job done with his game-winning goal late in the third period as Predators edged the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, to take the lead in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Western Conference playoffs quarterfinals series in
game-three on Sunday night, April 15, 2012, at the sold-out Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
As the series headed to Detroit, it was expected that having the best record at home would definitely help the Red Wings in numerous ways with their sluggish game but Nashville is bound on winning and that is what they did.
Predators’ superstar defenseman, Shea Weber, was back in the line-up after facing a one-game suspension for smashing Henrik Zetterberg’s face into the glass. The NHL came under fire when they did not suspend the star defender and only fined him, something
which certainly had the crowd going against him.
"We talk about great players when there's a little bit of controversy stepping up," Nashville coach, Barry Trotz, said. "When he came to the rink, he knew he wasn't going to be the most likable player in the arena."
Shea Weber showed the crowd what he was made of when he potted the first of the night on their first power play opportunity. Drew Miller was called for goalkeeper interference in the opening two minutes, giving Nashville the chance to take the lead.
Kevin Klein came out in the second to extend the lead while Pavel Datsyuk finally put Detroit on the scoreboard late in the period on a breakaway unassisted.
Sergei Kostitsyn secured the match for Nashville while Henrik Zetterberg attempted at getting back in the contest with a power play goal at 19:06, but being down by one with less than a minute remaining, Predators defence systems kept them out.
"If you keep giving them chances, they will eventually score," Zetterberg said, talking about all the power play attempts given to Predators over the span of these three matchups.
Nashville Predators will certainly be looking to extend the lead when they face-off against Detroit Red Wings in game-four of the quarterfinals on Tuesday, April 17.
Tags: