In Nashville, the hometown Predators fell behind to the Detroit Red Wings in the first period, 1-0.
The Preds roared back in the middle frame with a five goal outbusrt and cruised from there to a 6-1 win.
Matt Duchene struck for the final goals of the second period.
“Hockey is a really fickle game,” Duchene said. “We could have scored just as many goals on Saturday (a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers), but we ran into a hot goaltender. Today, we get a couple fluky goals and get rewarded for a solid effort. That’s the way we need to play every game.”
Pekka Rinne made 23 saves and picked up an assist in the win.
Andreas Athanasiou scored the lone Red Wings goal.
“I think confidence is the issue right now,” Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin said. “We’ve got a great group of guys in here, but we’ve got to find something to grab onto and get our confidence back. We’ve got to keep battling for each other and our fans.”
Nick Bonino tied the game in the second to unleash the Preds offense.
“There were a lot of 50-50 battles on that power play and we had two or three guys getting there and winning all of them,” Duchene said. “We could have easily scored a couple times before we did.”
Kyle Turris‘ and Colton Sissons got in the act top make it 3-1 Nashville before Duchene scored his two goals.
“There wasn’t a whole lot going on either way in the first period, but in the second period, we started getting guys to the net and we were able to cash in on some chances,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.
Filip Forsberg struck for a goal and two points on the night.
“This was a really good effort,” Forsberg said. “I thought we were a little slow in the first period, but we obviously turned it on in the second period. This is a great way to start the trip.”
[WATCH: All Predators vs. Red Wings highlights]
Jimmy Howard got the start for Detroit, but was given the hook after yielding four goals in the second period.
“We got a goal in the first period, but that doesn’t make it a good start,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I don’t think either team was very good in the first period.”
Jonathan Bernier made nine saves in a mop up effort.
“The puck kept going in the net, but that’s not on any one person,” Blashill said. “There were a lot of weird shots. We needed more stops, but there were some weird bounces.”
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