The Blackhawks held on to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 at Bridgestone Enviornment on Thursday.
Listed here are 10 observations from the win:
1. Going into Thursday, the Predators had been 13-0-3 of their final 16 video games in opposition to Chicago. The Blackhawks lastly beat the Predators in regulation for the primary time since Dec. 18, 2018, which was a 2-1 win on the United Middle. Go determine.
2. Alex Stalock had a little bit of a shaky begin however settled down after the primary interval, though it did not come with out a few hold-your-breath moments, which I will get to within the subsequent bullet level. His most essential cease of the evening got here on Philip Tomasino, who had a breakaway within the first interval of a 0-0 recreation however Stalock made the save — he needed to look again to ensure it did not slip previous him. Stalock stopped 35 of 36 photographs for a save share of .972. His shutout bid was damaged with 23.6 seconds left in regulation. Ouch.
3. The Predators had been awarded a penalty shot within the second interval after Stalock threw his stick at Rasmus Asplund, however they could not capitalize on their try. Matt Duchene mishandled the puck and Stalock made the simple save. It was the third straight recreation Stalock confronted a penalty shot after doing so in opposition to Boston on Tuesday when he denied David Pastrnak and Detroit final week when he stopped Dylan Larkin. A tricky missed alternative for the Predators.
4. The road of Joey Anderson, Boris Katchouk and Jujhar Khaira was, by far, the simplest trio for Chicago. When the three of them had been on the ice collectively at even energy, the Blackhawks led in shot makes an attempt (19-8) and scoring possibilities (9-3), per Pure Stat Trick. When the opposite three strains had been on the ice, the Blackhawks trailed in shot makes an attempt (37-16) and scoring possibilities (17-7). Oh, I forgot to say, Anderson scored his third aim in 5 video games to place his workforce forward 2-0, which was the icing on the cake. They earned that aim.
5. The Blackhawks scored the primary aim for the sixth time in seven video games. In 4 of the final six video games, they’ve held 2-0 leads. They’ve gotten off to some good begins these days, which was an enormous wrestle for them earlier within the season.
6. Lukas Reichel scored his third profession NHL aim, and it’ll most likely be one of many weirder ones he scores at this degree. He and Andreas Athanasiou had a 2-on-1, and Reichel’s tried cross to Athanasiou was damaged up by Dante Fabbro, who ended up crashing into Juuse Saros. The puck then discovered its means in as a result of the momentum carried it ahead, and it occurred whereas the online got here off its moorings. It counted as a result of the Predators knocked the online off themselves.
7. I assumed the Caleb and Seth Jones pairing was stable. They led the workforce in ice time but once more, and the ice tilted within the Blackhawks’ favor after they had been on the market.
8. With Jonathan Toews nonetheless out, Max Domi traded, and Cole Guttman out for the season with a shoulder harm, the Blackhawks’ heart depth has taken a serious hit. The Blackhawks have been among the finest faceoff groups all season lengthy, however they have not been as robust in that division as of late.
9. Regardless that they had been sellers on the commerce deadline, the Predators have caught fireplace the previous couple of weeks. They’re 8-3-1 over their final 12 video games and are solely 4 factors out of the ultimate wildcard spot within the West with three video games in hand. They usually’re doing it with out their main aim scorer Filip Forsberg. Who would’ve thought? I do not assume they’re going to go very far in the event that they get into the playoffs, however they’re battling.
10. The Blackhawks signed defenseman prospect Wyatt Kaiser to a three-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday. He joined the workforce on the five-game highway journey however didn’t play on this recreation. They need him to get just a few practices in first. He is a superb all-around defenseman, and I am curious to see how his recreation will translate to the NHL degree.
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