The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Saturday night, and MLive’s Ansar Khan adds a few more quips and quotes to the mix this morning.
Despite surrendering 42 shots and a staggering 89 shot attempts, 34 of which were blocked by the Wings, the team was satisfied with its defensive performance:
“Obviously much more committed defensively for a sustained amount of time,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “That’s a really good team. I don’t see them getting shut out many times this year, so that was a pretty good effort. Obviously, starting with our goalie and then the team defensive play.”
Moritz Seider, as usual, led his team’s block party by getting in front of seven shots.
“As a goaltender, you appreciate that more than anything,” Talbot said. “These guys don’t have the padding that I do, and they’re putting their bodies on the line. There’s some huge ones throughout the entire night, a lot on the PK, six-on-five. I mean, they’re just diving in front of everything, so the dedication and sacrifice from the guys in front of me won the game tonight.”
Andrew Copp made a particularly interesting remark regarding the Red Wings’ preparation for the Predators’ scoring power:
“I think we had a good plan for the way that they attack, based on their hands and obviously the Stammer one-timer,” Andrew Copp said. “We did a really good job of digging in on draws. I thought we got in shot lanes pretty well. We cleared it when the puck was on our stick, but it was just kind of an intensity and a complete desire from the get-go. I think you saw that in the amount of blocked shots. You saw that in maybe a few more won battles, stick battles, ready to jump your check just a hair quicker. I think that desperation, that sense of urgency was really important.”
Alex Wood also posted a two-part set of highlight clips from last night:
