Preying on Detroit's Octopus

For several years, the Nashville Predators have been used as a measuring stick for the Detroit Red Wings' success. They were eliminated in six games of the 2004 and 2008 playoffs, the latter en route to Detroit's 11th Stanley Cup. However, the script appears to have been reversed in 2012.

Nashville and Detroit met for the third time in the playoffs; however this was the first time that the Predators finished with a better record than the Red Wings. This despite Detroit's record-setting home surge, winning 23 straight games at Joe Louis Arena. Heading into their playoff matchup, Nashville and Detroit split their six-game regular season series. The Predators were brimming with confidence, having just won their first playoff series the year before. The Red Wings are priming for perhaps its final run with this year's group, as aging captain Nicklas Lidstrom's future with the team remains uncertain. Both teams are heading into opposite directions, and it showed why in a five-game battle.

The series showed how much Nashville has grown as a team, while it witnessed how Detroit's old dog couldn't keep up with the younger Predators. Most of Detroit's top players, among them Lidstrom, Todd Bertuzzi, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary, are over 30 years old. Nashville's unit remains relatively young, and still with room to grow. Their top 20-somethings include the Kostitsyn brothers Andrei and Sergei, Alexander Radulov, Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and rookie Gabriel Bourque. Nashville's youth was clearly the difference.

Nashville and Detroit split the first two games at Bridgestone Arena, with the team scoring first winning each game. The Predators head into Joe Louis Arena with something to prove, as they were winless in six trips at the Joe in the playoffs. They continued the ongoing trend by scoring first en route to breaking the hex at the Joe in Games 3 and 4. They returned to Bridgestone Arena brimming with confidence, and when Radulov scored the opening goal, the sell-out yellow-clad crowd went into a frenzy. Though Jiri Hudler would tie the game, David Legwand's goal in the second period proved to be the difference, as Nashville finally put away Detroit for the first time in three tries in the playoffs. When the horn sounded, the crowd noise grew louder, the Nashville players celebrated with goalie Pekka Rinne, and coach Barry Trotz applauded his players' effort.

Nashville did what they had to do: be patient, and strike when the opportunity comes. The Detroit players appeared tired while trying in vain to pepper Rinne with flying pucks, and that made the difference in the series. While Rinne had more saves than his opposite number Jimmy Howard, Nashville took advantage of several Howard miscues and slow Detroit skaters en route to winning the series. Lidstrom failed to register a point in the series, and Nashville's work on the defensive end proved to be the difference.

Nashville is currently waiting for its next playoff opponent. As for Detroit, an offseason shakeup is needed, to say the least.