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Surging Predators visit red-hot Red Wings in divisional clash

Jan 17, 2007 - 2:23 PM Nashville (32-11-3)at Detroit (29-12-5) 7:30 pm EST

DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Nashville Predators played second fiddle to the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division last season. But Jason Arnott has the Predators in line to finish on top this time around.

The Predators shoot for their seventh straight win and look to inch closer to a franchise record when they visit the Red Wings on Wednesday.

Nashville recorded a club-record 106 points last season only to finish a whopping 18 points behind first-place Detroit.

But thanks to their recent stellar play, the Predators enter Wednesday's contest with a four-point cushion over the Red Wings in the Central Division and trail Anaheim (68 points) by only one for the league's top mark.

Acquired as a free agent this past offseason, Arnott has been outstanding of late, scoring six goals and nine points in his last seven games.

Arnott netted his 16th tally of the season Monday to help the Predators rally for a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.

David Legwand had a goal and two assists for Nashville, which has outscored its opponents by a 27-13 margin during the six-game winning streak.

Nashville is on its longest winning streak since opening last season with a franchise-record eight straight victories.

If the Predators want to move closer to that mark, they will have to do so against an equally hot Red Wings club which has won four straight, including a 2-0 triumph over Montreal on Monday.

Dominik Hasek stopped 23 shots in the contest to record his sixth shutout this season and 74th career while Pavel Datsyuk scored his 13th goal of the campaign.

After getting off to a slow start this season, Datsyuk has been outstanding of late, registering 10 goals and 17 assists over his last 20 contests. The Russian center has three tallies and seven assists over his current four-game points streak.