Predators can feel confidence in their locker room

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The Predators clinched a playoff berth with five games left to play, but Coach Barry Trotz said there?s still plenty of work to do in the regular season.

Jockeying for seeding kicks into high gear today when Nashville visits Central Division foe Detroit.

?We?ve known we were going to be in the playoffs so there wasn?t a feeling of finally getting in,? Trotz said on Thursday. ?In the past when we got to Game 82 and got in there was an exhale ? trust me, because you were holding your breath for about three weeks at the end of the season. It?s a little different than in the past.?

The difference means the Predators are left with time to improve on their playoff seed. Each remaining game could potentially help or hurt Nashville.

A win against the Red Wings moves the Predators into fourth place in the Western Conference and in the top half of the playoff field. The Red Wings are currently in fourth, the Predators in fifth.

If the Predators were able to lock down the fourth spot, not only would it match their best playoff seed ever (2007), it would mean home-ice advantage.

Speaking of home ice, Detroit is tied with St. Louis for most wins at home this season. The Red Wings are 30-5-2 at Joe Louis Arena, winning 24 in a row there during one stretch.

Depending on how the next week unfolds, Nashville could also face Detroit in the first round of the playoffs.

?We know how good they are in their building,? forward Mike Fisher said. ?We?ve got to make sure we come out with a good start and make it hard on them and play physical and make it kind of a statement game because we know there?s a good chance we?ll play them in the playoffs.?

The Predators are winless in two trips to Detroit so far this season, yet they believe they can not only win in the Motor City but also go deep in the playoffs.

?You can feel the confidence in the locker room,? goalie Pekka Rinne said. ?We know that we have a good team. We still have to bring our best possible game every single night on the ice and we still have to play our style of hockey. We can?t change that now just because we have more skill and more talent.?

Nashville has met Detroit twice in the playoffs, losing in six games in both 2003-04 and 2007-08. Trotz said the Predators have made significant strides since then in catching up to the Red Wings.

?At that point in time ? they were deeper and more experienced. They probably had a big advantage,? Trotz said. ?It?s more even now than it has been in the past.?
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Ice issues: The Predators have always had trouble maintaining ice quality in Bridgestone Arena at this time of year because temperatures warm up and humidity rises.

Defenseman Ryan Suter said it?s a drawback to winning home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

?Obviously you want to try to go for home ice and that?s our goal right now,? Suter said. ?The ice isn?t the greatest, but the fans sure are great. It?s something (facility personnel) are working on. You?ve got to give them credit for that. It?s just not that good and that?s the way it is.?


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Three return: Three players who were out of the lineup with upper-body injuries ? forwards Martin Erat and Jordin Tootoo, and defenseman Roman Josi ? practiced with the team on Thursday.

All three are expected to play against the Red Wings.

?This is perfect timing to get those guys back,? Trotz said. ?Marty has played well all year and Josi has played a good number of games.?

 

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Jimmy Howard in, Kyle Quincey out as Red Wings host Predators



Jimmy Howard is returning to lead the Detroit Red Wings in goal with five games remaining before the playoffs.

The Wings host the Predators at 7:30 tonight (FSD+). Howard hasn't played since re-aggravating a groin injury March 19 against Washington, but coach Mike Babcock decided he's the best man for the job as the Wings look to pad their one-point lead on fourth place in the Western Conference.

"Everything seems to be OK," Babcock said. "He says he's feeling good about himself, so obviously, we'd like to get him going."

Babcock is making one other change to tonight's lineup, as he's pulling defenseman Kyle Quincey, whom the Wings acquired a week before the trade deadline, and inserting reserve d-man Jakub Kindl. Quincey hasn't had a particularly slick transition since joining the Wings a month ago, but Babcock made a point of saying nothing should be read into this decision other than that he wants everyone to play before the playoffs.

"We have seven D," Babcock said. "We believe we really have depth on D. I told the D before the Columbus game we're going to have a rotation. I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about that. That's just what I decided to do. I thought Kuba's played great his last five or six games. So you'll see a different guy out next guy."

The Wings got Quincey to shore up their back end, but he ended up having to play a bigger role, even as he was making the transition from Colorado's system to Detroit's, because of injuries to Nicklas Lidstrom and Jonathan Ericsson.

Quincey said he understood the decision. "I'm not surprised. We have seven great D. It is what it is. Obviously, you want to be playing."

The Wings had an optional skate this morning, but the lines for tonight are anticipated to be:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi

Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler

Miller-Abdelkader-Cleary

Holmstrom-Emmerton-Nyquist

Howard is eager to play after sitting four games. "Today was the day we were targeting," he said. "It's a chance to get back out there and get back into game shape. Tonight is a huge game. It could have huge home-ice implications, so we're going to have to go out there and play our game. Just go out there and do our thing."

In other goalie news, Joey MacDonald said he's doing better after getting a cortisone shot Tuesday to help offset a bulging disk, but it'll take a few more days to even determine determine when he can start skating.

 

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-- The Florida Panthers, coached by original Blue Jacket Kevin Dineen, were not at the rink this morning.

They flew to Columbus late last night after a gutting last-minute loss in Minnesota. The Panthers lost a 2-1 lead with 30 seconds left in regulation, then lost only 15 seconds into overtime. That's four straight games that have gone beyond regulation by the Panthers, who are closing in -- one point at a time, it seems -- on the franchise's first Southeast Division title.