This game was decided early, real early, and it wasn't a good outcome for the Red Wings.
Nashville scored four goals in the first 8 minutes 8 seconds — three goals from Little Caesars alumni Rocco Grimaldi during that blitz — leading the Predators to an easy 7-1 victory.
Grimaldi added the final Predators goal, in a memorable, career-high, four-goal evening.
Bobby Ryan (power play) scored the lone Wings' goal with 55 seconds left in the first period.
Ryan's goal ended a goal-scoring drought of exactly 150 minutes for the Wings.
Goaltender Thomas Greiss started but was pulled after Grimaldi scored his second goal, at 7:23 in the first period, after stopping only four of seven shots. Calvin Pickard replaced Greiss and stopped 18 of 22 shots.
Greiss, though, had little chance on any of the goals allowed, as the Wings' team defense in front of him was sloppy.
Grimaldi, a California transplant who played his youth hockey at Little Caesars, was the Predator who took most advantage of the defensive issues.
Grimaldi got behind Wings defenders to beat Greiss high for his first goal at 5:34, intercepted a bad exchange between Greiss and Patrik Nemeth and beat Greiss from a sharp angle to make it 3-0 at 7:39, then welcomed Pickard with an easy tap-in at 8:08.
Grimaldi finished things off stripping Filip Zadina of the puck and scoring on a breakaway late in the third period.
Eeli Tolvanen (power play), Mikael Granlund and Mathieu Olivier rounded out the Nashville scoring, with goalie Juuse Saros made 20 saves.
The Red Wings (10-20-4) have lost three consecutive games and return home for a two-game series at Little Caesars (Saturday and Sunday, both at 3 p.m.) against Columbus.
Nashville (16-17-1) has jumped into the playoff chase with victories in five of six games.
