Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Rich Peverley scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period and Dan Ellis was solid with 34 saves, as the Nashville Predators held on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1, at Joe Louis Arena.

Dan Hamhuis and Jerred Smithson also tallied for the Predators, who snapped a three-game losing skid. Nashville has 80 points and trails Vancouver, which defeated Dallas on Saturday, by two points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"It was a big win for us," Nashville head coach Barry Trotz said. "We had lost three in a row, but we got a little bit of momentum and put pressure on Vancouver, Minnesota, Calgary, teams like that."

Niklas Kronwall scored the lone goal for Detroit, which had its five-game winning streak halted. The Red Wings have already clinched the Central Division crown and are vying to lock up the top seed in the Western Conference. Chris Osgood stopped 24-of-26 shots in defeat.

With the game knotted at 1-1 after one period, Peverley's tally 6:10 into the second off a Red Wings' turnover gave Nashville the lead. Following a Predators' dump in, Osgood mishandled the puck behind his own net and Peverley tucked it home for his third goal of the season. Nashville maintained the slim edge heading into the second intermission.

"Bit of a lucky goal," Peverley said. It went high off the glass and I thought it would maybe bounce over his (Osgood) stick. It didn't but I got lucky."

Both teams played it cautious at the start of the third, but Detroit got a break just over eight minutes into the session. Greg Zanon was whistled for a high-sticking double-minor, but the Wings, battling some choppy ice, were unable to capitalize.

Detroit pulled Osgood in favor of the extra attacker in the closing minute and had some quality chances, but Ellis was up to the task. Smithson then scored into the empty net with 18 seconds left to account for the final margin.

"I thought they played hard and we didn't compete as well as we always do," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. "Give their goalie credit, he made some good saves."

After a couple of near misses in the early going, the Predators got on the board with 9:33 left in the opening stanza. Hamhuis carried the puck down the right wing boards, made a nice move around Detroit's Johan Franzen and slid the disc past Osgood to give Nashville the early edge.

Detroit tied the contest with 2:17 left in the period. Franzen skated the puck along the left side, worked a give-and-go with Mikael Samuelsson in the Nashville defensive zone, then from the left circle, slipped a pass over to the right circle to Kronwall, who fired it past an out-of-position Ellis to even things heading into the intermission.