Predators hold off Red Wings, gain in West wild card race

NASHVILLE --Juuse Saros made 28 saves, and Tommy Novak scored for the third straight game for the Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and an assist for the Predators (34-24-7), who have won three in a row and are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
"We're just putting our heads down and working," Sherwood said. "We're finding different ways every night, and that's the most important thing. Our goalies are giving ourselves a chance every night, and we're trying to do little things right that add up to a win at the end of the night."
Nashville moved within four points of the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Winnipeg has played three more games.
"It's not flashy by any means," Predators forward Cole Smith said. "It's a lot of hard work, a lot of buying in, a lot of care. I don't think we give up too much. I think we're really committed defensively. I think offensively we can probably push a little more to get more pucks and generate more offense, but I think that will come. We're a young group, and as long as we keep playing together and playing hard, I like our chances."

Alex Chiasson scored, and Ville Husso made 14 saves for the Red Wings (30-28-9), who have lost eight of 10 (2-7-1).
Detroit is seven points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"We just felt like we got a world-class goalie performance against us," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "The critique is the fact that we spent 10 minutes in the box. Great job on the penalty kill. We went 5-for-5. But the fact that we were the better team 5-on-5 tonight, that's 10 minutes of the game we were unable to get rhythm in our game."

Sherwood gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 10:58 of the second period. Philip Tomasino got the puck out of a scrum along the sideboards and flipped a backhand pass to Sherwood for a one-timer in front.
Novak made it 2-0 at 2:22 of the third period, getting inside position on Gustav Lindstrom and redirecting Cal Foote's shot near the right post.
Novak has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past three games and 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) in 34 games since being recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Dec. 19.
"Tommy is feeling it, which is good," Predators coach John Hynes said. "I think he deserves the opportunity he's getting. He's been very consistent with his game. He's playing with a ton of speed. I think he's got a lot of swagger with the puck right now. He's feeling it on that side of it.
"When you're dependable and reliable, your ability comes out more. I think that's really good to see with Tommy."

Chiasson cut it to 2-1 during a 6-on-4 at 17:44 when the rebound of his backdoor tap-in deflected in off his right skate. It was his third straight game with a power-play goal.
"It's crazy how sometimes the game flows," Chiasson said. "We get one maybe early on, it's a different type of game. For the most part, we stuck with it for 60. Both goalies played really well. That one stings."
NOTES:Predators forward Filip Forsberg, who missed his 15th straight game with an upper-body injury, wore a non-contact jersey during morning skate. He is day to day. … Red Wings forward Andrew Copp had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, three assists). … Chiasson extended his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists). … Nashville recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from Milwaukee on Tuesday. He was plus-1 in 11:31 of ice time playing in place of Ryan McDonagh, who is day to day with an upper-body injury.