DETROIT — The Nashville Predators scored only two goals on Tuesday night.But it was enough for a
win because the slumping Detroit Red Wings couldn’t get a puck past rookie Marek Mazanec.Mazanec made 27
saves to earn his first shutout, helping Nashville extend the Wings’ skid to seven games with a 2-0
victory.“He’s catching up to the level,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s confident after seeing some
of the best players in the world. When you start facing those guys on a regular basis, you’re going to feel
a little bit more confident if you have success.”Shea Weber and Gabriel Bourque scored for Nashville, which
has won two straight after losing four in a row.“We’ve got to keep an even keel,” Trotz said.The Red Wings
are saying the same thing.Detroit’s home slide reached eight games (0-6-2), the franchise’s longest stretch
without a win at Joe Louis Arena since Jan. 12-30 1991, according to STATS.“It’s just a frustrating time for
us right now,” Jimmy Howard said after making 23 saves for the Red Wings. “It just doesn’t seem like
anything’s going our way out there.”Home — or away.The Red Wings have gone seven games without a win overall
(0-5-2) for the first time since the last seven games of the 2001-02 regular season, according to STATS.That
team went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.This one, though, appears to have a lot of heavy lifting ahead of it
to contend for a championship.“When you’ve lost that many in a row, it gets in your head,” Trotz said. “They
haven’t really lost that many games.”In regulation, that’s a fact. Detroit entered the game with an Eastern
Conference-low five losses in regulation, but has lost all four of its shootouts and seven of eight games
decided in overtime.“There’s no excuses — whatsoever,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Our job
is to win games and we haven’t been winning. Sure, we’ve been taking points here and there, but it’s about
getting two points and we have to get back to that as soon as possible.”Weber gave the Predators a 1-0 lead
on a power-play goal with 4.8 seconds left in the second period.The Red Wings failed to clear the puck out
of their end and Weber took advantage. Weber kept the puck in Detroit’s end along the boards, passed it to
David Legwand, who set him up perfectly for a slap shot just inside the blue line in the middle of the
ice.“That was a huge goal,” Trotz said. “We’re in Detroit and they’ve got guys like (Pavel) Datsyuk and
(Henrik) Zetterberg, they’re dangerous.”Bourque gave Nashville a two-goal lead at 7:13 of the third period,
scoring on a rebound that caromed off the boards behind Howard.The Red Wings lost their previous three games
in shootouts and the two before those setbacks in overtime, but didn’t come close to pushing the Predators
past regulation.“They didn’t have a lot of good opportunities,” Mazanec said. “Our defense played
great.”Detroit’s defense lost a key player early in the game.Red Wings’ rookie Danny DeKeyser injured his
left shoulder after getting checked into the boards on his second shift and didn’t return. DeKeyser entered
the game with two goals and ranked among rookie leaders with seven assists.“He’s definitely not playing this
week,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.NOTES: Former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios was honored before
the game for being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. … NHL and Red Wings executives announced before
the game that the 2014 Winter Classic is sold out. The Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs are expected play
in front of 107,000-plus people on New Year’s Day at Michigan Stadium. In the same football stadium,
Michigan and Michigan State set a hockey attendance mark of 104,173 in 2010. … Legwand has three goals and
11 points in his past nine games, giving him a team-high 18 points this season.