Red Wings at Predators
THE STORY: There was a time when the Nashville Predators couldn't buy a victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The times certainly have changed as the Predators look to extend their home points streak against the Red Wings to six games when the Central Division rivals face off at Bridgestone Arena on Monday. Nashville is 3-0-2 in its last five home meetings with Detroit and has won five of the last seven overall matchups between the clubs. The Predators also will be attempting to extend their overall home winning streak to six games. Detroit is 1-2-0 on its four-game road trip and has dropped five of seven away from home. The Red Wings have won 12 of their last 17 overall, but have lost two in a row and three of five.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN (Detroit), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (21-12-1): Ty Conklin received a rare start Thursday at Calgary but fell to 1-4-0 on the season. Conklin, whose five starts and one relief appearance this campaign all have come on the road, hasn't won since posting a shutout at Colorado in his season debut on Oct. 8. D Mike Commodore also made an appearance Thursday, playing in just his fourth game of 2011-12. The 32-year-old veteran, who had been a healthy scratch for 17 straight contests, had not seen the ice since Nov. 15 at St. Louis.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (18-13-4): Nashville has won six of its last eight games but has dropped two of three. Pekka Rinne did not fare well in Friday's loss at Dallas. Rinne allowed three goals on only seven shots before being pulled for the fourth time this season. "He didn't have a great warmup, and when they got to three, just to change some momentum, I put (Anders Lindback) in there," Predators coach Barry Trotz explained. Nashville shut down Dallas' power play, marking the first time in four games it has not yielded a man-advantage goal.
OVERTIME:
1. The Red Wings have gone 0-for-8 on the power play over the first three games of their road trip.
2. Nashville has won four straight games against divisional opponents, but Detroit has dropped four of five versus the Central.