Both teams got on the board in the second period with Detroit netting an early period power-play goal and Nashville countering with an even strength goal mid-way through the frame. The Red Wings held the territorial advantage early in the period, but the second half of the period was very even. Nashville played with much more intensity and "jam" after the Halischuk goal put the Preds ahead 2-1.

THREE MUSINGS:
1) Nashville's most consistent play continued to come from the Spaling and Gaustad lines during five-on-five play. Halischuk's goal in the middle of the period ignited the crowd and led the Preds to step up their physical play. Beyond the goal the Spaling and Gaustad lines each drew a power-play opportunity for the Preds during the second period and seem to be much more effective tonight in all phases of the game than the Fisher and Legwand lines. Additionally, Gaustad's been a beast in the faceoff circle, winning 8-of-11 draws through the first two periods.

2) Howard gave up another suspect goal in the second period. He looked unsure on a couple saves late in the first period and then allowed a goal on a wrist shot in transition from just inside the blueline -- granted Bourque was cutting across his vision, but Bourque was around faceoff dot high when the puck passed him. The first period goal by Gaustad --- while not Howard's fault --- was also on a rather non-descript type of play.

3) The first two periods have been much more blue collar and "ugly" than a skilled, creative, skating display. There have been very few odd-man rushes and even fewer pretty passing combinations from either team. Instead the majority of the play has been more board battles, puck retreavals, dump-and-chase attempts. The passing attempts for both teams seemed to be just a hair off -- passes more into skates than tape-to-tape. Its even more surprising given the high number of power-play attempts both teams have garnered.

The Preds lines to open the game were:
  Fisher centering Erat and S. Kostitsyn
  Legwand centering Radulov and A. Kostitsyn
  Spaling centering Bourque and Hornqvist
  Gaustad centering Halischuk and Yip

Defensively:
   Suter and Weber
   Josi and Klein
   Bouillon and Hillen

Nashville took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to claim a 1-0 lead, Paul Gaustad's first goal as a member of the Preds. But the Preds were victimized by some unlucky bounces later in the period -- Martin Erat rang one off the post later in the period and Mike Fisher had the puck hop over his stick twice when he was open back-door on the power-play. All-in-all a good first period of action for the home team, heading into the first intermission with a lead.


Three Musings
1) Heading To The Box -- For two of the lowest penalized teams in the league, Period 1 had a lot of penalties --- all totaled, six power-plays for the two teams. Neither PP unit was able to generate many high-quality scoring chances, but Nashville's second power-play of the period did generate momentum for the Preds. The team responded with three very solid five-on-five shifts right after that PP with solid scoring chances on each shift.

2) Depth Pays Dividends -- During the morning skate coaches press conferences, Coach Babcock said he liked his third and fourth line match-ups against Nashville's third and fourth lines, but in the first period Nashville's Spaling and Gaustad lines were the team's most consistently effective units. The Spaling unit created the game's first good scoring chance when Hornqvist snuck behind the Detroit defense and had a partial break 1:40 into the game from the red line in. The Gaustad line backed that with a scoring chance off the ensuing faceoff. Later in the period Gaustad netted the lone goal of the period, fending off two Detroit defenders curling around the Wings net and throwing the puck out to the top of the goal crease where it banked off a Wings defender and inside the far post.

3) Injury? -- Detroit forward Darren Helm appeared to be injured in a battle along the boards during Nashville's second power-play. Helm, a key to Detroit's third line as well as top PK contributor, dropped his glove and stick and went directly to the bench. He did not see action in the final 6:18 of the period. Helm was making his first appearance back in the lineup since March 17; his return was viewed as a major boost to Detroit's depth, forechecking, and penalty kill. If he can't go, it could be an early turning point in the series. (Note: Detroit issued an injury report on Helm --- Upper Body Injury/Will Not Return)

The Nashville Predators had an optional morning skate Wednesday, just hours before the puck drops on their Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Detroit Red Wings. Game time is 7 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised on SportSouth in the Nashville area (Comcast Nashville channel 1676 (HD) and 26 (SD)).

Defenseman Hal Gill, who missed Monday and Tuesday’s practices with a lower body injury, was not among those on the ice Wednesday. Trotz confirmed at his post-skate press conference that Gill will be a game-time decision.

Regarding Gill’s possible absence from the lineup for Game 1, captain Shea Weber said, “We’ve got a lot of depth. I think we’ve talked about that. We’ve got guys that can step up and guys that have played well for us this year. So it’s no big deal if he can’t go, and we’ll be ready.”

Speaking of ready, players were even more anxious to get going than they were Tuesday. “Obviously it’s that time of year we’ve been waiting for,” Nick Spaling said. “It’s exciting. I’m sure there’s a little bit of nerves and that comes with it. It’s a game day, so now it’s time to focus in and it’s here. It’s time to be ready to go.”

“I think everyone’s prepared,” said Craig Smith, one of four Predators rookies. “We’re kind of composed right now and ready to jump into the game and let it all out. I think everyone’s got a lot bottled up right now. We’ve just got to manage that.”

Perhaps engaging in some head games, Detroit head coach Mike Babcock told media during his morning skate press conference Wednesday that he was glad his team was starting on the road, that it would allow the Red Wings to play the game simply, pressure the home team and watch as your opponent tightens up.

Predators forward Smith, for one, likes starting the series at Bridgestone Arena. “You’re somewhere where you’re familiar, and you’ve got a lot of fan buildup to give you some momentum right off the bat, which is going to be huge in this series,” he said.

Babcock also said forward Darren Helm will return to the Red Wings’ lineup for Game 1. Helm has missed almost a month with a sprained MCL.

Watch Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock's media session earlier this morning

Watch Preds Head Coach Barry Trotz's media session earlier this morning