Five Red Wings score in victory against Predators

DETROIT --The Detroit Red Wings got goals from five players, and Petr Mrazek made 30 saves in a 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Joe Louis Arena on Friday.
Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist each scored his first goal of the season, and Darren Helm scored his fourth into an empty net with 22 seconds remaining to seal Detroit's third straight win.

After being outshot 33-18 in a 2-1 win at the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Detroit had a 43-33 advantage against Nashville.
"I thought we had a lot of guys playing," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We did a lot of good things, and the only time we got into trouble was with puck management in our own zone."
P.K. Subban, Mike Ribeiro and Mike Fisher scored power-play goals for the Predators, who have lost three straight games. Pekka Rinne made 38 saves.
"Both teams were forechecking hard and creating chances, but they were faster than we were and they moved the puck better than we did," Fisher said.

The Predators were down to 16 skaters for much of the game, including the entire third period, after Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith left because of illness.
"I thought we played hard, especially with a short bench," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times. You can't make that many mistakes in a close game."
Tatar put Detroit ahead 3-2 at 1:10 of the third, and Nyquist doubled the lead at 11:27, picking up a loose puck at the Predators blue line and scoring an unassisted goal.
Fisher pulled the Predators within one with 4:46 left.
But Nashville forwards James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok each was assessed a penalty with 2:02 remaining to put the Red Wings on a 5-on-3 power play, and Helm scored.
"I really thought we were going to come back and win it, even without those two guys, but we just made too many mistakes in the last few minutes," Fisher said.
Rinne and Mrazek each made 15 saves in the first period. Rinne made several tough saves early in the second period, but Detroit broke through on the power play.

Rookie defenseman Ryan Sproul took a shot from the point, and Rinne made a blocker save, but the puck hit Abdelkader's skate and trickled through his legs at 5:17 of the second. Laviolette challenged the goal, claiming goaltender interference, but it was upheld by video review.
Sproul, playing in the NHL for the first time since making his debut April 13, 2014, earned his first career point on the goal.
"Everyone told me I scored, but I thought it went off [Abdelkader]," he said. "It was a weird play, but it is nice to have my first point."
The momentum shifted when Nashville went on a 5-on-3 power play late in the second. With Tatar and Danny DeKeyser in the penalty box, defenseman Jonathan Ericsson lost his stick, putting the Red Wings in a deeper hole. Subban quickly took advantage with a slap shot that beat Mrazek for his second goal.
Eighteen seconds later, with DeKeyser still in the penalty box, Ribeiro scored to give the Predators a 2-1 lead. Miller tied it 2-2 with 40 seconds left in the period, beating Rinne from a sharp angle.

Goal of the game

Ribeiro stayed calm to give Nashville the lead and end his 19-game goal drought, which dated to March 3. He beat the Detroit defense to the rebound of a Ryan Ellis shot, then skated past a stranded Mrazek before sliding the puck into the vacated net.

Save of the game

With it tied 0-0, Tatar slipped a backhand pass to Riley Sheahan in the low slot. Sheahan took one touch to get the puck into shooting position, allowing Rinne just enough time to make the save with his right pad with 3:21 left in the first period.

Unsung moment of the game

Moments after setting up Detroit's first goal, Sproul prevented the Predators from tying it. Nashville's Kevin Fiala had a shot at an open net, but the rookie got his skate blade on the puck, deflecting it over the glass. "I just kind of kicked it out," Sproul said. "That's just a desperation play, and I thought I pulled my hammy, but it was all good."

They said it

"I felt good out there tonight, but I've felt good all season and I'm 1-2. That's getting frustrating." -- Predators goalie Pekka Rinne
"I think this was our best game of the season. We did a lot of good stuff, and we can learn from it." -- Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar

Need to know

The Red Wings wore their white jerseys at home. … Johansen, whose four points are tied for the Nashville lead, had 4:01 of ice time before leaving, and Smith played 5:56. Fisher and other Predators are fighting the same bug.

What's next

Predators: Home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: Home against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-D, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)