March 2, 2026 — The Nashville Predators suffered a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday afternoon in front of 17,300 fans. Nashville managed to tie the game at 2-2 midway through the second period, but a shorthanded goal from Albert Johansson broke the tie and gave Detroit the lead for good. The loss drops the Predators to 27-25-8 on the season while the Red Wings improved to 35-20-6.
Game flow
Detroit struck first when Emmitt Finnie buried his 10th goal of the season at 4:51 of the opening period, with Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton picking up the assists. Nashville responded on the power play at 17:02 as Filip Forsberg converted his 26th goal with helpers from Luke Evangelista and Roman Josi. Jonathan Marchessault evened the score at 2-2 early in the second period with his 11th goal, finishing a feed from Ryan O’Reilly. The Red Wings answered quickly through Lucas Raymond, and then Johansson delivered the dagger on the shorthanded tally at 16:36 of the second. Alex DeBrincat sealed the result with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Goaltending
Juuse Saros carried a heavy workload for Nashville, facing 30 shots over 57 minutes but was tagged with the loss after allowing three goals on those attempts. Detroit split duties between John Gibson and Cam Talbot, with Talbot earning the win after stopping 18 of 19 shots across 40 minutes of action. Gibson handled the first period and turned aside 10 of 11.
| Goalie | DEC | GA | SA | SV | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juuse Saros (NSH) | L | 3 | 30 | 27 | .900 | 0 | 57:01 |
| John Gibson (DET) | – | 1 | 11 | 10 | .909 | 0 | 20:00 |
| Cam Talbot (DET) | W | 1 | 19 | 18 | .947 | 0 | 40:00 |
Special teams and possession
Nashville went 1-for-2 on the power play thanks to Forsberg’s first-period conversion, but the penalty kill was the story as Detroit scored shorthanded on Johansson’s second-period tally. The Predators controlled possession with a 57.1% Corsi rating and generated 30 shots, but struggled to convert at even strength. Detroit managed just 31 shots but capitalized on three of their even-strength opportunities and added the shorthanded marker. Nashville held a 62.7% offensive zone start rate but could not sustain enough pressure to overcome the deficit.
Point scorers
Seven Red Wings players recorded at least one point, led by Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, and Mason Appleton with two points apiece. Five Predators registered points, with Filip Forsberg, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista, and Ryan O’Reilly each collecting a single point.
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | SOG | Type | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex DeBrincat (DET) | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 3 | EV/EN | 17:02 |
| Lucas Raymond (DET) | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 3 | EV | 17:59 |
| Marco Kasper (DET) | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 1 | – | 15:22 |
| Mason Appleton (DET) | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 3 | – | 13:58 |
| Emmitt Finnie (DET) | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 3 | EV | 11:31 |
| Albert Johansson (DET) | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 | SH/GW | 16:40 |
| Andrew Copp (DET) | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 1 | – | 17:09 |
| Filip Forsberg (NSH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 6 | PP | 18:52 |
| Jonathan Marchessault (NSH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 | EV | 19:34 |
| Roman Josi (NSH) | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 3 | – | 26:09 |
| Luke Evangelista (NSH) | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | – | 18:09 |
| Ryan O’Reilly (NSH) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | – | 21:33 |
Looking ahead
The Predators will need to tighten up their penalty kill and find more even-strength scoring as they push to stay in the playoff conversation at the 60-game mark. Nashville’s possession numbers continue to be encouraging, but converting on those chances remains an issue. The Red Wings, meanwhile, continue to surge as one of the Eastern Conference’s most consistent teams this season.
Source: Nashville Predators
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
