(Sports Network) - Fans of the Detroit Red Wings have to be wondering which team will show up for this year's postseason.

Motown residents and enthusiasts will be pulling for the club that won the Central Division for a seventh straight time way back on March 13, hit the 100-point mark for a record-tying eighth straight campaign and extended its string of consecutive postseason appearances to 17 seasons -- the longest current run in professional sports.

However, those said fans will be looking over their shoulders to make sure the Detroit skaters who lost six games in a row in February (a skid that followed an eight-game winning streak by the way) on the way to a 1-8-2 stretch don't decide to make a cameo in this quarterfinal matchup.

It sure has been a streaky season for the Red Wings. They posted their fifth 50-win season in team history and also reached that mark for a third straight season, marking just the fourth time in NHL history a team has done that.

That plateau was helped by a franchise-record tying nine-game win streak from October 18-November 9, as well as a 12-game point streak (10-0-2) during the season.

Still, for all the times Detroit looked dominating this year on the way to the sixth Presidents' Trophy in club history, it has also showed some vulnerability, especially in February when the Red Wings went only 4-8-2.

With Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the roster, though, it is tough to imagine Detroit struggling in the postseason. Datsyuk led the Red Wings with a career-high 97 points, also setting career bests with 31 goals and 66 assists.

Meanwhile, Zetterberg reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career (43 goals) and also notched a career-high 49 assists despite missing seven games this year due to back spasms.

Both Zetterberg and Datsyuk were solid contributors during Detroit's postseason run last year, with Zetterberg donating 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 18 games. Datsyuk added 16 points (8g, 8a) in last year's playoff run.

The Red Wings are deep up the middle with Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula. Franzen contributed 27 goals and posted six game-winning goals in March to break the franchise record for most GWG in one month, originally held by Gordie Howe and Zetterberg.

Detroit's offense doesn't slack at the blueline, thanks to five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom (10g, 60a) and first-year Red Wing Brian Rafalski (13g, 42a). Both are good at keeping the opposing team out of the net as well, as evident with Lidstrom's plus-40 rating and Rafalski's plus-27.

The Red Wings have two number one netminders to pick from for the postseason. Chris Osgood was an All-Star after going 20-3-2 with a 1.87 goals-against average in 25 games before the break, but went just 7-6-2 with a 2.46 GAA in 17 second-half games.

Dominik Hasek (27-10-3, 2.14 GAA), meanwhile, ended up begin the more consistent of the two by posting a 2.12 GAA in the first half and a 2.20 GAA in the second.

For what it's worth, Hasek has made 115 playoff appearances in his career to Osgood's 87.

Detroit will hope to have Tomas Holmstrom back and healthy for the playoffs after the 200-pound forward missed 13 games due to a groin injury before returning for the club's last game of the season.

However, Tomas Kopecky is likely to miss the entire postseason due to a torn ACL and MCL.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS (8th seed, West)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 41-32-9

2007 PLAYOFFS: Lost to San Jose 4-1 in conference quarterfinals

(Sports Network) - Who says you needs superstars to compete in the NHL? Certainly not the Nashville Predators.

Not much was expected out of the Preds in 2007-08. Uncertainty in ownership and a possible relocation led to a payroll reduction that saw the club trade away Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell and Tomas Vokoun in addition to letting Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg leave as free agents.

That didn't stop Nashville from reaching the postseason for a fourth straight year. However, given the lack of playmakers, it might be tough for the Predators to advance out of the first round for the first time in club history.

But don't tell that to Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and Alexander Radulov, also known as Nashville's big three.

Arnott, the club's 33-year-old captain, tied with Dumont for the team lead in points with 72, and also had a club-high and career-high tying 44 assists. Not bad for a center in his 14th NHL season who has 63 postseason points (27 goals, 36 assists) in his career.

Dumont, 30, ended as Nashville's top goal scorer with 29 markers, a new career best. The forward finished with 72 points to top the career-high 66 he totaled with the Preds last year. He also had a solid though limited postseason last year, managing four goals and two helpers in six games.

Mixed in with that experience is the play of second-year forward Radulov. The 21-year-old set new career bests across the board with 26 goals, 32 assists, 58 points and 81 games played. However, he did cool down at the end of the season with just two goals over his last 19 games played.

Martin Erat was another solid contributor with a career-high 23 goals and 34 assists for a personal-best tying 57 points. David Legwand donated 15 goals and 29 assists while battling a foot injury that caused him to miss the final 12 games of the season. It is very likely that Legwand will miss this round of the postseason.

Nashville made a nice addition in getting Jan Hlavac from Tampa Bay at the deadline, as the forward had three goals and 10 assists in 18 games with the Preds.

Defensively, the Predators may have trouble shutting down a high-powered offense. Marek Zidlicky helped offensively with five goals and 38 assists, but was a minus-5 on the season. Ryan Suter added another 24 assists and was a plus-3.

Another thing working against Nashville's defense may be its youth. While the 31-year-old Zidlicky and 35-year-old Greg de Vries have experience, Suter (23), Shea Weber (22) and Dan Hamhuis (25) are on the young side.

The blue line will need de Vries to lead since his 105 career playoff tests are by far more than any other defender on the roster. In fact, Zidlicky has played in just eight postseason contests, while Suter, Weber and Hamhuis have skated in a combined 30 playoff games.

Goaltending is another issue for Nashville. Chris Mason (18-22-6, 2.90 goals- against average) made 45 starts this year, while Dan Ellis (23-10-3, 2.34) started in 37 tests and played better down the stretch.

That could prompt Nashville to go with the 27-year-old Ellis in the playoffs over Mason, 31, as Ellis won four of his last six starts while pitching consecutive shutouts over that run and getting the majority of the starts of the season's final month.

The Preds have plenty of issues, sure, but that didn't stop them during the regular season.

MATCHUP

On paper, this series seems very one-sided in favor of Detroit. However, the Red Wings didn't own the Predators this year, going 5-3-0 against them in the regular season. Not only that, but the fact that the teams played each other eight times during the season at least gives Nashville some familiarity with its foe.

The Red Wings and Preds have met once in the postseason, as Detroit defeated Nashville in six games during the 2004 conference quarterfinals.

Nashville needs to play disciplined, seeing as Detroit ranked third in the NHL on the power play (20.7 percent), but Nashville was solid all year on the penalty kill, ranking third in the league at 85.4 percent.

One Detroit skater who hurt Nashville all year was Franzen, who had six goals against the Preds with three of those being game-winning goals. Datsyuk, meanwhile, had three goals and three helpers versus the Predators.

Nashville's top players have also had some success against Detroit, with Radulov posting four goals and three assists in eight games against the club and Dumont ending with two goals and five assists. Erat led the way with four markers and four helpers versus Detroit this year.

The Predators are going to have to beat a pair of goaltenders with a lot of playoff experience, a matchup that certainly favors Detroit. Hasek went 3-1-0 with a 2.23 GAA and a shutout in four starts versus Nashville, while Osgood was 2-2-0 with a 2.49 GAA in four starts.

Meanwhile, Ellis is 1-1-1 with a 1.75 GAA versus Detroit this year, while Mason went 2-2-1 in five games (4 starts) against the club to go along with a 2.80 GAA.

The Predators have been a feel-good story all year, but it seems unlikely that their tale ends with anything other than a first-round exit. Nashville may steal a game at home, but ultimately Detroit's talent and experience will quickly put the team away.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Red Wings in 5