Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press
Playing a team just above them in the Central Division standings, the Detroit Red Wings played a tight, albeit not very exciting game.
Marc Staal scored in the final minute of the second period to tie up their game Thursday against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. But the Wings gave up a goal to Dante Fabbro with 59.2 seconds remaining to lose, 3-2, and drop to 3-10-2.
The Wings pulled Thomas Greiss for the extra attacker, but weren’t able to reply quickly for a second time against the Predators (6-8).
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Staal’s goal was his second of the season. It came 14 seconds after Matt Duchene had put the Predators ahead. The Wings let in a lot of those types of goals last season, and to even the game so quickly was a step forward. The Wings had to play with a short bench, too, as they lost a forward in the second period.
The Wings went on their power play early in the third period, having generated only one shot on goal through their first two man advantages. Calle Jarnkrok forced a save from Greiss while shorthanded, and the Preds went on their third power play. Ryan Ellis made it 1-0 on a power play in the first period. The Wings were left shorthanded again at 6:12, making it hard to generate offense.
The Wings went on a power play with six minutes to go in the third period, and again gave up a shorthanded chance that Greiss had to stop.
The Fabbri Factor
Fabbri earned his third goal in seven games, and his second in three games. It’s what the Wings were hoping they’d see as Fabbri regained his game legs following a two-week absence after testing positive for COVID-19. Fabbri took a pass from Anthony Mantha and beat Pekka Rinne with a hard shot from the circle. It was Mantha’s first point since being sent a message as a healthy scratch Feb. 7 at Florida.
Greiss goes long
Thomas Greiss made his seventh consecutive start, as Jonathan Bernier has not been available since Mantha crashed into Bernier Jan. 28 at Dallas. Bernier suffered an upper-body injury, but he could be back as soon as this weekend — the Wings play against the Predators again Saturday, and then return home for a series against the Chicago Blackhawks that begins Monday. Greiss has not allowed more than three goals in any game.
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Helm hurt
The Wings already were without forwards Tyler Bertuzzi (upper body) and Luke Glendening (upper body). Forward Darren Helm left Thursday’s game after sustaining a lower-body injury. Forward Valtteri Filppula was also not in the lineup, but he may have been a healthy scratch as he has really struggled. Filppula has one goal and is minus-2 in 11 games.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.