NSH VS DETIan White epitomizes why Red Wings won Game 2

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By Joshua Cooper

If any Red Wings player exemplified how Detroit won Game 2 against the Nashville Predators, it's defenceman Ian White.

According to the Detroit Free Press, White didn't practice Saturday with a sore foot after blocking a second period power-play shot in Game 2.

The Red Wings snuffed out the Predators on all six of their power plays, out-blocking Nashville 16-10 in the process. White, like his teammates, was also opportunistic with his chances, burying the first goal of the game. It was one of just 17 shots the Red Wings took.

"I think we're putting a lot of pressure on them," White told the Free Press on Nashville's power play. "We're not giving them a whole lot of time to set up and make plays. [Jimmy Howard] made some really big saves and guys have stepped up and that's what we need at this time of the season."

You can look at the special teams battle one of two ways. One, Detroit is 12-for-12 in penalty killing. The other is that the Predators are 0-for-12 on the power play. Nashville finished tops in the league with the man-advantage in the regular season - though they had just a 17.6 per cent success rate against the Red Wings in their six games against Detroit.

Still, the Predators believe that their time will come and they will notch a timely goal.

"We didn't score but we had a lot of chances and some of them have to go sooner or later," defenceman Shea Weber said. "I think we generated a lot more and had a lot more zone time and there's a lot of positives to take."

Changed lineup

With the Predators having lost Game 2 there is the possibility of some sort of changed lineup going into Game 3 in Detroit on Sunday. Coach Barry Trotz said he was considering making some sort of switch moving forward. Jordin Tootoo, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson have all been healthy scratches the first two games of the series.

 "Are we contemplating some lineup changes? Yes, absolutely," Trotz said. "One or two, but right now we're just contemplating."

If the Predators want to regain the advantage in the series, they're going to need to win at Joe Louis Arena for the first time in team history in the post-season. The Red Wings finished the regular season with the top home record in the NHL. With several road teams having picked up victories in the first two games of the post-season, the Wings understand that home ice may not been such a positive in their favour.

"I just think we've played very well at home, but in saying all of that let's not put too much into it," Detroit coach Mike Babcock told the Detroit News. "They beat us here the last time they played us."

Nashville defenceman Hal Gill will travel with the team to Detroit for Sunday's game, but his status remains unclear at best. The 6-foot-7 Gill, who was acquired specifically for the post-season, has missed the first two games of the series with a "lower-body" injury.

He did not skate at practice on Saturday.

"One of the things with certain injuries is sometimes you're better off not skating in terms of that and letting it settle down," Trotz said. "Every day goes by he is getting closer."

Josh Cooper reports on the Nashville Predators for The Tennessean. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCooper.

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