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It was a long time coming for Detroit Red Wings forward Emmitt Finnie, but the giant piano finally fell off his back, fittingly, in the place known as Music City.
Finnie scored his first goal in 23 games, his first since Dec. 23 against the Dallas Stars, as part of Detroit’s 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville on Monday afternoon.
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The victory helped the Red Wings leapfrog the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division; they have the same number of points as the Buffalo Sabres, who own the tiebreaker and also have a game in hand.
For Finnie, one of three rookies who initially made the club out of Training Camp, it was a naturally good feeling – but he also gave credit to teammates Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton.
“Yeah, it felt good, good play by Marco getting it to Apps, then Apps with a great play to Marco in front,” he said. “I was just fortunate to be there in the right spot to put it in.”
“Obviously, you think about it in the back of your mind,” he continued about his goalless drought. “I wasn’t trying to focus on it too much, I want to score and produce. It was good to get that one in, but I’m going to try and keep playing my game.”
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The Red Wings dropped a disappointing 5-2 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the week, which put them back into a Wild Card position in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division standings.
The need for two points on Monday afternoon was discussed beforehand by the club, and they responded well.
“I thought we played well right from the start,” Finnie said. “You know, coming into this, we knew it was like a must-win for us, so I thought we responded pretty well.”
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Finnie is one of just two rookies on the Detroit Red Wings roster who have stayed with the club all season, the other being defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
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