Vs. NASHVILLE

@ Joe Louis Arena. Detroit, Michigan. Attendance: 19,986
Game 2 of 6 Vs. Nashville (0-1) Next Game Vs. Nasvhille: 1/6/00

Box Score - Click for box score

                    Wings 6, Predators 3
                    Wings 6, Predators 3
Red Wings rout Predators
Fedorov scores in his return and helps Legace earn victory

David Guralnick / The Detroit News Sergei Fedorov, playing in his first game since Nov. 26, got it going in a hurry with a first-period goal.

By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

    DETROIT -- The Red Wings won Wednesday's game in the final six-tenths of a second in the second period.
    Pat Verbeek's goal with that much time remaining, a deflection of Nicklas Lidstrom's shot from the point, gave the Wings a 4-3 lead en route to a 6-3 victory.
    "Just enough time," Verbeek said of this third goal of the season. "I happened to get a piece of it. That's a tough goal for a team to come back from in that situation."
    After Verbeek's heroics, the Wings turned the game into a rout. The victory spared them the indignity of losing two straight games to the Predators in the span of five nights. For most of the game, it seemed the Wings were headed that way.
    "It was reminiscent of Saturday's game," Verbeek said of countless odd-man rushes by the Predators, who led 2-0 and 3-2.
    There were plenty of Wings offensive heroes. Yuri Butsayev had two goals and an assist, Stacy Roest a goal and two assists. Sergei Fedorov and Steve Yzerman got goals, and Nicklas Lidstrom had two assists.
    Fedorov was making his first appearance after missing six games because of a concussion. He played 15 minutes and seven seconds and took four shots.
    "It felt pretty good," Fedorov said of his return. "I tried to concentrate on basic things like faceoffs, good passes, make sure I played well defensively.
    "It seems to me I put my game together and it worked out for me."
    Said Roest: "Any time you can add a player of Sergei's ability to the lineup, it's going to help."
    Then there was Manny Legace, making his regular-season debut for the Wings. He calmed down after giving up the two goals, both off odd-man rushes, neither of which was entirely his fault. It was tough to begin with, anyway, because he was hit in the head by a Tomas Holmstrom shot in warm-ups and had a headache throughout the game.
    "I wasn't concerned; those were tough chances," Coach Scotty Bowman said of the early goals. "He's a smart goalie."
    Legace was pleased with the victory.
    "The start wasn't exactly the way I dreamt it," he said. "I was more nervous for this game than any I've been in. I'm happy with the way it turned out."
   
   
 

       PICTURES: Click for larger image
 
 

       VIDEO: Click for video of selected goals