NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- All things considered, the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 overtime victory Saturday afternoon against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena might have been their most satisfying this season.

When Danny Cleary scored at 2:58 of overtime, it capped a spirited comeback from a three-goal deficit.

The Red Wings clinched a playoff spot for the 20th consecutive season, the longest active streak in the four major pro sports. They also reached 100 points for the 11th year in a row, extending their NHL record.

They snapped a four-game losing streak to Nashville and rebounded nicely from Wednesday’s disastrous 10-3 loss at home to St. Louis.

“Everybody knew how important the game was for both teams," Cleary said. “We had a lot of different guys play very well physically, and we responded."

Cleary scored his 25th goal of the season by going to the net and deflecting a shot by Brian Rafalski past Pekka Rinne, after Henrik Zetterberg won an offensive-zone faceoff.

Justin Abdelkader, in perhaps his best game, scored two goals, including the game-tying tally at 3:59 of the third period. He also was a physical presence, credited with a game-high five hits.

Todd Bertuzzi, who made a nice pass to set up Abdelkader’s tying goal, sparked the team emotionally by getting the best of Shane O’Brien in a pair of fights.

Jimmy Howard, back after sitting out two games with a sprained left shoulder, made a few key stops in the third period and finished with 31 saves.

"I thought we played great," coach Mike Babcock said. “We kept shooting the puck over the glass, which probably isn’t a good move, but I thought we did a lot of good things. We played hard.

"I thought Bertuzzi was great today. He was physical, he was standing up for his teammates a lot. Abdelkader played real well. Howie made some big saves down the stretch, the guys stuck with it and we were able to win."

The Red Wings were called for delay of game three times after firing the puck over the glass. It led to a pair of power-play goals for Nashville. But Detroit killed two Predators power plays in the final six minutes, both penalties against Ruslan Salei.

"It was a don’t-give-up attitude," Howard said. “We found ourselves down 3-0, but we started getting on them, putting pucks in, just throwing them at the net. We were able to get traffic and a couple were able to get by Pekka."

The Predators scored twice in a span of 55 seconds early in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Martin Erat converted on the power play at 1:42 and Sergei Kostitsyn fired in a rebound off the back boards at 2:37.

"You’re down 3-0 and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Geez, we played pretty good here,’ “ Babcock said. “The guys could have easily sagged. They didn’t, they responded. I thought we had a lot of good physical play. Bert and Abby led the way, but lots of guys did a good job for us."

The Red Wings responded quickly, getting goals 1:21 apart from Jakub Kindl (3:28 on a shot from the point) and Abdelkader (4:49 on a deflection from the slot). Abdelkader then tied it at 3:59 of the third period.

"Anytime you can chip in on the scoreboard it’s great," Abdelkader said. “Our line had a lot of chances, whether I was with (Mike Modano and Tomas Holmstrom) or Bert and Mule (Johan Franzen). I just wanted to be physical and hang onto pucks and get to the net. It was a great team effort. We showed lot of character fighting back."

Detroit’s surge happened right after Bertuzzi got into his second fight with O’Brien. Bertuzzi downplayed any factor that might have had, but said Wednesday’s embarrassment lit a fire in the team.

"Unfortunately, it takes a kick in the arse like that to get ourselves going," Bertuzzi said.

Nashville led 1-0 after the first period on a power-play goal by Ryan Suter, but Cleary said his club came out with a lot of urgency and determination.

"We needed that after the last outing," Cleary said. "It was rock bottom."

Post-game interviews

