"Hockey is a really fickle game," Duchene said. "We could have scored just as many goals on Saturday (a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers), but we ran into a hot goaltender. Today, we get a couple fluky goals and get rewarded for a solid effort. That's the way we need to play every game."
[WATCH: All Predators vs. Red Wings highlights]
Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist for Nashville (9-4-2), which has won five of its past seven games. Pekka Rinne made 23 saves; he is 8-0-2 in 10 starts this season.
"This was a really good effort," Forsberg said. "I thought we were a little slow in the first period, but we obviously turned it on in the second period. This is a great way to start the trip."
Roman Josi had two assists for the Predators, who defeated the Red Wings for the second time in 12 games (2-8-2). Detroit won 5-3 at Nashville on Oct. 5.
"We haven't beaten Detroit in a long time, especially here, so that's huge," Josi said.
Andreas Athanasiou scored for Detroit (4-11-1), which is 1-10-1 and has been outscored 52-21 in its past 12 games, including 17-4 in three straight losses.