This was just one of those games that assures you of two things: the Wings don't have the depth to play like last year, and the Wings can beat anyone when they decide to apply themselves.

Detroit got outskated, outworked, outcoached, outplayed, and out-everything-else in the first 40 minutes of this game. Nashville has a solid club. Not the most talented they've ever had, but one of the hardest-working. It would be a shame if they missed the playoffs again. They did what they needed to do and completely walked all over Detroit. Detroit's offense looked dangerous in the 3rd, but they had Rinne to answer to. Also, the Predators likely backed off a tad, so it was hardly all Detroit.

Obviously, Drew Miller had his best game as a Wing and was rewarded with a goal. He probably would have had two if Zetterberg didn't try to make that move around the defenseman on that 2-on-1. Or maybe the defenseman would have broken it up and I'd be talking about how he should have tried to make a move around him. Who knows? Whatever the case, especially if Pekka Rinne intended to dive out at the pass, if it got to Miller he would have been looking at an open net. I've been really impressed with his play.

Todd Bertuzzi definitely didn't do a good job proving me right after I came to his defense earlier this week, with a below-average effort (fits in with the rest of the team through 40 minutes) and no real scoring chances. Two offensive zone penalties, one deserved. People seem to be really hung up on that. Holmstrom took two offensive zone penalties -- both deserved, but who talked about that? It's cool, I get it. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Mike Babcock's calling him out for more goals -- Bert feels like he should have six or seven and I completely agree. He's played well enough to earn that, and I think if he had it he wouldn't be taking so much heat for his play. I'm only giving him a few more weeks. Solid play, but it means nothing if he can't start putting them in more regularly.

That said, if Ville Leino's flying all over the ice and Bert is looking disinterested, why take Leino off Zetterberg's line for Miller? Leino is struggling to put up points as well (still think he and Homer should switch spots in the top six), but he had a few really good shifts last night. Most of them were with Abdelkader (his Griffins' linemate from last season), but still. The offense is sputtering right now, yet the only change from game-to-game is whether or not Kris Draper is on the Helm/Eaves line. That line really isn't the problem right now, it's the other three.

Derek Meech looked pretty solid for not having played in a while. I thought this was Jonathan Ericsson's best game of the season. Still not like he was in the playoffs, but he showed some confidence with a beautiful end-to-end rush that he flubbed in the first period, and was nearly-mistake free in his own zone.

Pretty typical game from Osgood. Spectacular saves, for most of the night, but two weak goals. No chance on the powerplay goal, but those Erat shots have got to be stopped. Well-placed shots for sure, but those are ones that Osgood can handle.

Next up: Atlanta. Howard's getting the start against a surprisingly potent offense. There's a very real possibility that Howard could get lit up by Ilya Kovalchuk, so let's just hope he can limit him to just one or two goals.

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