#LGRW Final: Glendening lifts Red Wings to 4-2 victory over Predators

DETROIT -- When your goalie returns to the lineup for the first time in more than two weeks, it's crucial to give him support and make him comfortable, and the Detroit Red Wings did just that for Jonathan Bernier Saturday night, scoring two first-period goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

Forward Adam Erne earned his first goal in 36 games, alternate captain Luke Glendening scored his first in 42 games and earned his first career three-point game to help Detroit improve to 4-10-2, while Nashville fell to 6-9-0.
"It's a big win for us," said Glendening, who missed the last two games. "We had a tough trip. I thought we played pretty well but weren't getting results. It was good to get results tonight. I was excited to get back and I was excited to be part of the win here."

Detroit controlled the pace the first several minutes of the game, making a concerted effort to get the defensemen involved in the rush. The Wings allowed Bernier--who missed the last six games with an upper-body injury--to get settled early, holding the Predators without a shot for the first 11 minutes of the game.
The Red Wings struck first 4:59 into the game when Robby Fabbri took a pass from Valtteri Filppula, who made a heads-up play to carry the puck behind the net and sent a perfect feed to Fabbri on the doorstep, allowing Fabbri to easily find the back of the net on a top-shelf one-timer.

The goal was also assisted by defenseman Filip Hronek, who earned his eighth point of the season.
Erne extended the lead for the Wings at 12:24 of the first as he carried the puck in from center ice and fired a back-handed knuckler that hit Predators goalie Pekka Rinne's chest and fluttered into the net.
Glendening earned the assist on the goal to give Detroit its second two-goal first period of the season.
Nashville center Matt Duchene thought he was going to cut into Detroit's lead with two seconds left in the first, but Bernier made an incredible sprawling glove save to preserve the first-period shutout.

After the save, Bernier boasted a wry smile from ear to ear, and Duchene couldn't do anything but shake his head as the Wings took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Bernier said he was thrilled to get some early goal support, which allowed him to get settled into the game.
"Every time you get some goals, it's always nice," said Bernier, who earned 21 saves for his third win of the season. "At the end of the day, if we don't score, you've got to just keep doing your job, shot-by-shot. But obviously it gives you a little confidence.
"I thought our last few games, we played good enough to get some points, and we just couldn't do it. But I thought tonight was a really good effort from everyone."

The Red Wings took their first 3-0 lead of the season at 17:22 of the second period on Glendening's goal, which was eerily similar to Erne's. Glendening took a pass from Fabbri, gained the zone and fired a seemingly harmless backhand shot that hit Rinne's chest and fluttered into the net.
Defenseman Troy Stecher also earned an assist on the goal.
Detroit outshot Nashville, 15-3, in the second and Rinne was replaced by goaltender Juuse Saros to start the third period.
But the Red Wings knew the game wasn't over against a Predators team that came into the game scoring 58 percent of their goals in the third.
Nashville continued its third period success 7:57 into the frame when the Red Wings turned the puck over in their own zone, which led to a mad scramble. Filip Forsberg threw a pass in front of the net which hit Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal's skate and slid past Bernier to cut the Wings' lead to 3-1.
But Anthony Mantha extended Detroit's lead to 4-1 at 14:56 of the third when he got the puck on an odd-man rush and fired a lightning-quick shot that beat Saros top-shelf. Glendening and Stecher earned their second assists of the night, capping off Glendening's three-point game.

Little Caesars Amateur Hockey League alumnus Rocco Grimaldi scored for Nashville with 46 seconds left to cut Detroit's lead to 4-2, but it was too late, and the Red Wings skated away with the two-goal victory.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Saturday's win was a character-building moment after the Wings have played well lately but haven't earned results.
"These are moments where you show your character, and you've got to come back and find a way to play great hockey," Blashill said. "I think we've played pretty good five games in a row here since we got embarrassed against Tampa. So it's good to find ways to win.
"I thought we came out after what was really a gut-punch loss the other night where they scored with a minute to play, and we talked about it as a group. So it was a big win"
The Red Wings return to Little Caesars Arena for the first time in 15 days on Monday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in the first of a six-game homestand. Puck drop for the Original Six matchup is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday night, with the TV broadcast on FOX Sports Detroit and radio call on 97.1 The Ticket.