Detroit, MI – Pekka Rinne made 41 saves and the Nashville Predators held off the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, in Game 3 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Kevin Klein had a goal and an assist for the fourth-seeded Predators, who split a pair of games with Detroit in Nashville. Shea Weber and Sergei Kostitsyn also lit the lamp.
Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who posted a stellar 31-7-3 record at home during the regular season. Henrik Zetterberg also scored.
Jimmy Howard turned aside 19-of-22 shots in defeat.
"Let's be honest, if you look at the game, the puck didn't go in for us," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "It did for them and we've got to change that next game."
Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Predators went on the power play just 1:35 into the game when Drew Miller was called for goaltender interference. Over a minute into the man advantage, Weber put home a rebound of Andrei Kostitsyn's backhander from in close. Nashville was 0-for-12 on the power play over the first two games of the series.
"We have to find a way to stay out of the box. It kind of kills your rhythm, trying to get four lines going," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said.
A nice play by Klein gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at the 3:50 mark of the middle stanza. Klein beat Howard on a breakaway after using a deke to get past Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart at the blue line.
With the teams skating 4-on-4, Datsyuk put the Red Wings on the board with 4:57 remaining. Datsyuk stole the puck away from Roman Josi behind the Nashville net and then beat Rinne, making it 2-1.
Detroit almost tied the game in the final seconds of the second frame. Rinne made a right pad save and the rebound ended up in the slot. Johan Franzen was there for the rebound and put the puck into the back of the net. However, it was determined that time expired before the disc crossed the line.
Sergei Kostitsyn gave Nashville some breathing room with 3:30 to play in the third. Following a save by Rinne, Sergei Kostitsyn led a 3-on-1 rush into the offensive zone. His shot from the right circle got past Howard, making it a 3-1 contest.
But a holding penalty on David Legwand put Detroit on the power play with 1:37 left. With 53.1 seconds showing on the clock, Zetterberg beat Rinne with a shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Game Notes
Weber now has 19 career postseason points (10g-9a)...Detroit had killed off the last 37 power plays it had faced coming into Sunday's game...Nashville continues to play without defenseman Hal Gill, who is dealing with a lower- body injury.
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