2008 Woodie Awards
Red Wings advance to semifinals
Teresa M. Walker
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
The Detroit Red Wings can take a couple days to rest up. The NHL's best team in the regular season won't miss the Western Conference semifinals this year.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Jiri Hudler each scored, and the Red Wings closed out their opening series by beating the Nashville Predators 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday.
Brian Rafalski added an empty-netter with 4.8 seconds left. Goalie Chris Osgood stopped 20 shots for the shutout in his second straight playoff start as top-seeded Detroit became the first road team to win in this series.
With the victory, Detroit passed Toronto for second on the list of playoff series won with its 59th.
Nashville had hoped to use hot goalie Dan Ellis and an earsplitting crowd to force Game 7 in Detroit on Tuesday night. But the Predators missed their best scoring chance when David Legwand hit a post in the first period, and they failed to advance out of the first round for a fourth straight postseason - each time on their home ice.
The eighth-seeded Predators had no pressure in a series few thought they'd get a chance to play in. Their season featured a change in owners and the unloading of several top players under previous owner Craig Leipold. Nashville couldn't capitalize on a soldout crowd that tried to help by screaming and waving free towels at every opportunity.
Ellis stopped 40 shots after setting a franchise playoff record with 52 saves in Friday night's 2-1 overtime loss in Detroit. That was the most through regulation in a postseason game since May 24, 1996, when Tom Barrasso had 56 for Pittsburgh in an Eastern Conference final loss to Florida.
But neither Ellis nor the fans could score.
It started Sunday when Lidstrom took a shot from past the red line in the second. Ellis came out to the edge of the crease only to see the puck bounce a few feet in front of him and into the net for a 1-0 lead at 13:44 of the second.
Nashville had a chance to answer. The Predators went on the power play and had 54 seconds of a 5-on-3 after a tripping penalty on Kris Draper at 14:43. Detroit killed off the penalties.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Jiri Hudler each scored, and the Red Wings closed out their opening series by beating the Nashville Predators 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday.
Brian Rafalski added an empty-netter with 4.8 seconds left. Goalie Chris Osgood stopped 20 shots for the shutout in his second straight playoff start as top-seeded Detroit became the first road team to win in this series.
With the victory, Detroit passed Toronto for second on the list of playoff series won with its 59th.
Nashville had hoped to use hot goalie Dan Ellis and an earsplitting crowd to force Game 7 in Detroit on Tuesday night. But the Predators missed their best scoring chance when David Legwand hit a post in the first period, and they failed to advance out of the first round for a fourth straight postseason - each time on their home ice.
The eighth-seeded Predators had no pressure in a series few thought they'd get a chance to play in. Their season featured a change in owners and the unloading of several top players under previous owner Craig Leipold. Nashville couldn't capitalize on a soldout crowd that tried to help by screaming and waving free towels at every opportunity.
Ellis stopped 40 shots after setting a franchise playoff record with 52 saves in Friday night's 2-1 overtime loss in Detroit. That was the most through regulation in a postseason game since May 24, 1996, when Tom Barrasso had 56 for Pittsburgh in an Eastern Conference final loss to Florida.
But neither Ellis nor the fans could score.
It started Sunday when Lidstrom took a shot from past the red line in the second. Ellis came out to the edge of the crease only to see the puck bounce a few feet in front of him and into the net for a 1-0 lead at 13:44 of the second.
Nashville had a chance to answer. The Predators went on the power play and had 54 seconds of a 5-on-3 after a tripping penalty on Kris Draper at 14:43. Detroit killed off the penalties.
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