Sun Apr 20 18:10:28 2008

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Osgood blanks Predators; Red Wings advance

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Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Chris Osgood made 20 saves as Detroit blanked Nashville to advance to the second round of the playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Predators in Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Jiri Hudler and Brian Rafalski each had a goal for the Red Wings, who advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season.

Dan Ellis stopped 40-of-42 shots, but the Predators have now lost all four playoff series' in which the franchise has appeared.

The Predators came out of the gate strong, but the Red Wings weathered the early storm and were able to respond with a strong end to the first period.

However, neither team got on the board in the first 20 minutes with Detroit throwing 10 shots on net and Nashville nine.

Detroit grabbed the lead with 6:16 left in the second period on a fluke goal.

Skating short-handed, Henrik Zetterberg won a faceoff in the neutral zone near the Nashville blue line and drew it back to Lidstrom. The veteran defenseman fired a knuckling shot from his side of the neutral zone that took a hop about 10 feet in front of the Nashville goal and bounced past Ellis and into the net.

The Predators had an opportunity to tie the game with a 5-on-3 later in the period. The best chance came when Rich Peverley received a pass down low at the left side of the net, but instead of one-timing the pass, he held it for a moment before firing a shot on net and Osgood had plenty of time to get into position and make the save.

About three minutes into the third, David Legwand fired a shot on net that Osgood stopped and Legwand followed with a rebound opportunity, but Osgood stopped the follow-up with his mask to keep Nashville off the board.

A bit later, Detroit padded its lead. Darren Helm skated into the Nashville end and from the left side slid a pass over to Hudler, who one-timed the puck past Ellis for a 2-0 lead at 3:52.

Nashville pulled Ellis with under two minutes to play, but the team was unable to get any pucks past Osgood and Rafalski's empty-net goal sealed the series victory for the Red Wings.

Game Notes

Osgood has 11 shutouts in his playoff career...Detroit also defeated Nashville in six games in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs, ending that series with a shutout win in the Music City...Neither team scored on the power play with Detroit having four chances and Nashville three...The Predators played without team captain Jason Arnott for a second straight game with possible food poisoning...Nashville is 0-4 in elimination games on its home ice.