Petr Mrazek makes 42 saves in Red Wings shutout

NASHVILLE -- Petr Mrazek made 42 saves for his first shutout of the season and Mike Green scored to give the Detroit Red Wings a 1-0 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Mrazek made 17 saves in the third period.

"It feels great, my first shutout of the year," Mrazek said. "What I said two days ago, if we win 5-4 or 1-0, the most important thing is you bring home two points."
WATCH: All Red Wings vs. Predators highlights
The Red Wings (22-21-9) have won two games in a row, including 5-4 against the New York Islanders with Mrazek in goal Friday, and are 5-2-3 in their past 10.
The Predators (25-19-8) lost in regulation at home for the first time since Dec. 29 (4-1-2).
Green scored at 18:30 of the first period on a wrist shot from the high slot. He controlled a pass from forward Henrik Zetterberg and beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for his 10th goal.

"It took us, I think, half a period to get our legs, but once we did we sustained pressure in their zone," Green said. "We had shifts like [Zetterberg's] more throughout the whole lineup. I think it wore them down a little bit."
Predators defenseman Roman Josi returned after missing nine games with a concussion.
"I thought [Josi] was good," coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's difficult coming back when you've been out of it. When you miss one or two games, it's OK. I think when you start missing seven, 10, 12 games, then it becomes a little bit more difficult just getting your timing in. I thought he did a pretty good job."

Goal of the game

Zetterberg directed the puck off the boards to Green, who shot through traffic.

Save of the game

Mrazek made a save on Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush in the third period. Predators forward Filip Forsberg passed the puck to Jarnkrok in the slot but Mrazek got his pad on the shot.

Unsung performance of the game

The Red Wings penalty kill allowed three shots on three power-play opportunities in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Mrazek made a glove save on James Neal at 18:36 of the first period. Neal broke in the zone and took a shot on Mrazek's glove side while the goalie was leaning to the stick side.

They said it

"Belief. I've said this before that we need to go on a run. In order to go on a run, we need a goalie to get hot, and I know [Mrazek] can get hot. I've seen it in the [American Hockey League], I've seen it last year in the NHL. Last year in January he was probably the best goalie in the League, so I guess 'belief' would be the word in why I went back to him." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on why he started Petr Mrazek on back-to-back nights
"I think our guys have been playing hard, playing well. We've been putting a lot of wins in the column. I think if you play this game over you probably win it nine times out of 10. Tonight, we lost it. Their goaltender played terrific, but I thought we were pretty good defensively. When we did make some mistakes or have some breakdowns, [Rinne] played really well for us tonight. Just one of those nights it's unfortunate you don't get the points." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall missed the game and is day to day with a lower-body injury. … Josi was tied for the Predators lead with five shots on goal in his return. He played 20:28. … Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen missed the game with an upper-body injury and is day to day. … Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith returned after missing 13 games with a knee injury. … The Predators acquired forward Vernon Fiddler from the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in a trade for a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV)