Counting Down the Best Nashville Predators Playoff Wins: 2008 Game 3 vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Predators overcame a two-goal deficit to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole against their Central Division Rivals.

Jan 8, 2008; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alexander Radulov of the Nashville Predators (47) against the Los Angeles Kigns at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Nashville Predators kick off the 2026-27 season in 43 days on Sept. 20 with preseason action against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Predators look to end a two-year playoff drought by getting the season off to a good start and starting first-year general manager Chris MacFarland's tenure on a positive note.

The Predators have won 56 NHL playoff games for seven series victories, with one Clarence S. Campbell Trophy in 2017 in the franchise's 28 seasons. Let's round out the offseason by looking back and counting down the most significant playoff wins in franchise history.

No. 43 - 2008 Game 3: Nashville Predators vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Nashville Predators slipped into the 2008 NHL playoffs as the last seeded team in Western Conference and squared up against Central Division rival Detroit in the first round. The Red Wings won both home games to open the series, jumping into a 2-0 lead and putting Nashville's back against the wall in Game 3.

The Predators' problems persisted as the game began in Broadway as the Red Wings worked into 2-0 lead with goals from Kris Draper and Jiří Hudler at the midway marks of both the first and second periods. Nashville finally got on the scoreboard and into the game when Jason Arnott won a faceoff in Detroit's zone with just over seven minutes to play. Martin Erat found Marek Židlický, who skipped the puck over to Ryan Suter at the point and Suter sent a slapshot at Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek. Alexander Radulov's stick got in the way and deflected Suter's shot past Hasek and into the net, lifting the home crowd off their feet.

Throwback to April 14, 2008, when the Nashville Predators avoided falling into an 0-3 hole and defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 in Game 3 of their opening round playoff series. pic.twitter.com/Zwk5ejPCRP

— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) August 8, 2026

The Predators equalized a few minutes later after J.P. Dumont and David Legwand found themselves in a two-on-one situation on a small break. Dumont found Legwand on the backside of the play, who fired a one-timer past Hasek for Nashville's second goal.

“There are moments that are going to happen in this series that can change the whole series,” Nashville head coach Barry Trotz said. “I don’t know if we just had one. When the series is over, we might look back and say this was that moment. We won’t know that until this series is over.”

The Red Wings found a tie-breaking goal just 40-seconds into the third period when Pavel Datsyuk went on a one-man breakaway and fired the puck past Dan Ellis, quieting the home crowd's frenzy. Detroit nearly held onto the 3-2 lead but with right at four minutes left the Predators pushed to another gear.

Jan Hlaváč drew the Detroit Red Wings attention before dumping a pass to Suter at the blue line. Nashville's defender had plenty of space, so reared and fired a shot from deep tying the game. Nine seconds later Arnott put the Predators in front for the first time in the night with a slapshot of his own. Erat put the cherry on top with an empty netter in the final 30 seconds, giving the Predators a much-needed win.

“One, the series is not over, but it’s tough," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "With 2-to-1, you’ve got a series. It’s on. It’s not like we didn’t have a preview of this. We saw Boston (win Game 3 after being down 2-0). We saw New Jersey. We sat there and watched. We know how desperate teams can be. We even talked about how we would be if we were in this situation. You’re playing for your life.”

Nashville Predators All-Time NHL Playoff Victories By Series

2004 R1 vs DET: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2006 R1 vs SJ: 1 win (L 1-4)
2007 R1 vs SJ: 1 win (L 1-4)
2008 R1 vs DET: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2010 R1 vs CHI: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2011 R1 vs ANA: 4 wins (W 4-2)
2011 R2 vs VAN: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2012 R1 vs DET: 4 wins (W 4-1)
2012 R2 vs PHX: 1 win (L 1-4)
2015 R1 vs CHI: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2016 R1 vs ANA: 4 wins (W 4-3)
2016 R2 vs SJ: 3 wins (L 3-4)
2017 R1 vs CHI: 4 wins (W 4-0)
2017 R2 vs STL: 4 wins (W 4-2)
2017 WCF vs ANA: 4 wins (W 4-2)
2017 SCF vs PIT: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2018 R1 vs COL: 4 wins (W 4-2)
2018 R2 vs WPG: 3 wins (L 3-4)
2019 R1 vs DAL: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2020 Qualifying vs ARI: 1 win (L 1-3)
2021 R1 vs CAR: 2 wins (L 2-4)
2022 R1 vs COL: 0 wins (L 0-4)
2024 R1 vs VAN: 2 wins (L 2-4)

This is the fifth article in a Nashville Predators On SI series counting down the 47 most significant playoff wins in Nashville Predators history.

• No. 47 - 2019 Game 2: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars
• No. 46 - 2019 Game 3: Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars
• No. 45 - 2015 Game 5: Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks
  
• No. 44 - 2015 Game 2: Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks

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