Mrazek makes 31 saves, Red Wings shut down Predators

NASHVILLE -- Petr Mrazek made 31 saves, Gustav Nyquist scored the game-winning goal, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Mrazek is 6-0-0 against the Predators in his NHL career.

"I saw that for the first time today that I was 5-0 against them," Mrazek said. "Every game is different. You never know what kind of bounce is going to go in or out, so it was nice that it's 6-0 today."
WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Predators highlights]
Luke Witkowski scored his first NHL goal, and Darren Helm also scored for the Red Wings (24-24-9), who have won three of their past four games. Detroit is seven points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I thought our work ethic was great," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "There was certainly moments in [a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday] where our work ethic was really good, and then there were moments where it wasn't good enough. We can't be that. We've got to be an every-shift work ethic team, and I thought tonight our work ethic was great the whole time.
"That doesn't mean we didn't make mistakes. We made lots of mistakes. We can live with mistakes, but you can't live without having an unreal work ethic, being highly competitive and as detailed as possible, and I thought we did a good job."

Craig Smith scored, and Juuse Saros made 31 saves for the Predators (34-14-9), who have lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Dec. 19 against the Winnipeg Jets and Dec. 21 against the Carolina Hurricanes. They remain tied with the Jets for first place in the Central Division with 77 points.
"They blocked a lot of shots," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "I think they probably blocked [26] shots anyway. We hit the post a few times and just couldn't seem to get it to bounce and stick our way offensively. That seems to be a common theme right now that the puck is not dropping in the net. When you don't score goals, it becomes difficult to win."
Witkowski gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period on a breakaway. He got behind the Predators on a late line change and beat Saros on a backhand shot for his first goal in 74 games.
"I kind of blacked out a little bit," Witkowski said. "I got the puck on my backhand and shot it and got it past his blocker. That was cool though, a good building to do it in too."

Nyquist made it 2-0 at 10:54 on a redirection. Nick Jensen took the original shot from the point, and Nyquist tipped it past Saros for his 16th goal.
Smith scored a power-play goal on a breakaway to cut the lead to 2-1 at 14:35 of the third period. P.K. Subban hit Smith with a stretch pass, and he beat Mrazek with a wrist shot for his 17th goal.
Helm scored into an empty net at 18:41 to make it 3-1. It was his seventh goal.

Goal of the game

Nyquist's goal at 10:54 of the first period.

Save of the game

Mrazek's save on Calle Jarnkrok 40 seconds into the third period.

Highlight of the game

Witkowski's goal at 4:12 of the first period.

They said it

"We want to be a next-goal mentality. We want to be a team that's a high-pressure team, and you can't sit back and be a high-pressure team. I thought we got away from it a little bit in the second. I thought in the third we were way better at it." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"It seemed like we were pressing all the time offensively, and they've got such speed in their lineup that the minute you have a hole defensively from pressing offensively, they're off to the races, either a partial breakaway or a 2-on-1." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

The Red Wings have seven consecutive victories against the Predators. … Red Wings defenseman Mike Green missed the game with an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday and is day-to-day. … Predators defenseman Roman Josi had seven shots on goal and 12 shot attempts.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Ottawa Senators on Monday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV)