Preds lose 5-3 to Detroit
NASHVILLE — Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice and had two assists to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Anthony Mantha added a goal and two assists for Detroit in its season opener, Dylan Larkin had a goal and an assist and Luke Glendening also scored for the Red Wings. Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg
scored for Nashville, which won its opener Thursday night. Midway through the third period with the game tied, Glendening scored the go-ahead goal with a wrist shot from the right circle that glanced off the mask of Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros
and into the net. Bertuzzi scored the game’s first goal at 10:29 of the opening period. From above the left faceoff dot, Larkin sent a cross-ice pass through the slot to Bertuzzi at the right faceoff dot, where he beat Saros with a one-timer high to the glove side. Saros finished with 23 saves. Arvidsson has a goal in each of Nashville’s two games this season — he set a Nashville franchise record last season with 34 goals — and Duchene has five assists in his first two games as a Predator. Detroit has beaten Nashville in 10 of 11 games since Peter Laviolette has been coach of the Predators.
BASKETBALL
› UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault said his team is prepared to play the pivotal Game 3 of the WNBA Finals without league MVP Elena Delle Donne and guard Ariel Atkins. The pair combined for 43 points last week while leading the Mystics to a ninepoint win in the opener, but both were listed as questionable with back spasms as the series resumes today tied at a game apiece. The 6-foot-5 Delle Donne, who averaged 19.5 points and 8.2 rebounds during the regular season, has a herniated disk that is pinching a nerve in her back. She left Tuesday’s 99-87 Game 2 loss without scoring a point after playing only a few minutes in the first quarter. Thibault said that Atkins, who had 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting in Game 1, bent down at some point Thursday night and could not stand up again. Both players traveled with the Mystics to Connecticut, but they were receiving medical treatment on their backs while their teammates practiced on Saturday.
› TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama freshman forward
Juwan Gary is expected to miss the season with a knee injury. The school said in a release Friday that Gary had successful surgery on his right knee Thursday and is expected to make a full recovery. The four-star prospect is the Crimson Tide’s second newcomer to go down with a preseason injury. Junior college forward
James Rojas also sustained a knee injury and is expected to miss Nate Oats’ first season as coach. Gary was ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 64 player in his recruiting class and the 12th-best small forward. He averaged 25 points last season at Liberty Heights High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.