October 19, 2000

The Central Division provides the Predators’ fiercest rivals, and no team gets Nashville blood boiling quite like the Detroit Red Wings.  A powerhouse in the NHL for as long as Nashville has been a part of the league, Detroit won every game against the Preds in their home arena, the Joe Louis Arena, over the teams’ first two seasons (1998-99 & 1999-00) of head-to-head competition.

On October 19, 2000, Nashville’s first trip to Joe Louis in 2000-01, the Predators wrote a new chapter in this burgeoning rivalry.  With Detroit goaltender Manny Legace pulled for an extra attacker, the Wings’ Sergei Fedorov tied the game at 1-1 with only four seconds remaining in regulation, spoiling an astounding 45-save performance from Nashville netminder Mike Dunham. 

But Nashville’s top scorer, Cliff Ronning, made all right in Pred nation.  The 5-8, 165-pounder solved Legace with a tough-angle shot 1:51 into overtime.  Ronning’s goal silenced the 19,995 Motown faithful, and Nashville captured a 2-1 victory, its first of several memorable wins at the Joe.