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The No. 1 vs. No 8 matchup in the Western Conference has been decided by virtue of the Nashville Predators' loss Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks: The Red Wings will face the Predators starting next Thursday in Detroit as the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs open.
The Red Wings finished 5-3 in the regular season series against Nashville with the series finale going to Detroit by a 1-0 score last week as Johan Franzen scored in overtime.
The Predators, along with the Red Wings, are fighting through the injury bug: David Legwand, Steve Sullivan, and Martin Gelinas are all sidelined with injuries. Sullivan has missed the entire season due to an ongoing struggle to recover from a back injury suffered last season.
Nashville, a team the Red Wings defeated in the 2004 playoffs, are easily the most travel-friendly of the Western Conference opponents: the city is just a shade over 530 miles from Detroit and just a 90-minute plane ride away.
