Recap: Detroit Red Wings 6, Nashville Predators 3

A few thoughts on the game:

... Dominik Hasek had more than a few moments of brilliance last night, but they didn't completely make up for the bad taste left in my mouth after the Predators' first and second goals.

Both came off bad deflections or bounces, but both could have been avoided through better positioning.

On the first, the play was well covered by Kronwall and Lidstrom. Dom just needed to make the save. On the second, it was a broken play, but if he had covered the post better, he would have stopped the shot.

At a number of other points in the game, Hasek looked great. But those two goals are something of a concern.

... I'm still not sure how Dan Ellis missed Niklas Kronwall's shot on the Wings' first, and based on the fact that he looked down at his glove in disbelief, I don't think he knows how he missed it either.

... I think Chris Chelios was the last player on the ice to know his shot went in the net on the Wings' second. Pulling Ellis at that point was an odd move.

... It was good to see Brian Rafalski make Dan Hamhuis pay for his bone-headed up-the-gut clear for the Wings' third.

... The second period ended with the Predators really looking like little children, eh? How Mason avoided an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shooting the puck at Hasek, I don't know. At least they gave that classless piece of donkey refuse Dan Hamhuis two minutes for his big man attack on Henrik Zetterberg.

... The first five minutes of the third period made me sad. That is all.

... Johan Franzen, where did that come from? Please do that again and again in the playoffs.

... Henrik Zetterberg's pass to Pavel Datsyuk to set up the breakaway that led to the Wings' 5th goal was a thing of beauty. Datstyuk breakaways don't happen often enough.

... Poor Kirk Maltby couldn't hit the empty net from 20 feet out, but got to see Datsyuk do it from halfway between the red line and the blueline. Kirk was shaking his head all the way to the bench.

... All in all, I think that game will be good for the Wings. They gave up a lead, but found a way to pull away again despite the determination of a fast and physical opponent. Hasek was able to improve his game as the night went on and hopefully regained confidence after being pulled Sunday. Here's hoping they can carry on through with a win over Columbus on Saturday.

The win effectively ended the Predators' playoff hopes, though they aren't mathematically eliminated yet. The Wings, on the other hand, pulled two points further ahead of the San Jose Sharks, though the latter have a game in hand.

Highlights

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