A game that features the Blackhawks and the Predators is usually circled on the calendar as a must see. This season it is more like lets see how this goes. The Predators are tied for the most points in the Western Conference while the Blackhawks are just one point from the bottom of the whole NHL.
Prior to the game the Blackhawks loaned rookie defenseman Henri Jokiharju to Finland for the World Junior Championship and activated Artem Anismov and Gustav Forsling from the IR. Corey Crawford was moved to the IR on Monday for concussion protocol as the result of getting bowled over on Sunday night against the Sharks.
Period 1
Ryan Hartman started strong on his first tilt at the United Center since being traded to the Predators last season. In the first 20 seconds he blocked a shot and had Cam Ward one-on-one but Ward came out and cut Hartman’s angle off to make the save. Shortly thereafter Jonathan Toews made a nice pass to Kahun who whiffed on the one-timer while Pekka Rinne left the side of the net open.
Brandon Saad also started out well with a couple of quality opportunities but did not cash in on either of them. The flow of the game was non-stop and fast with very few stoppages in the first 10 minutes of play.
At 9:30 in the period Colton Sissons was taking some late whacks at Ward and only Patrick Kane came to his defense. He’s not the player that should be handling that business but he gave a crosscheck to Sissons and grabbed him by the collar. No penalties were called on the play and nor should there have been.
The period continued to be fast paced and well-played by both teams. The shots were almost 50/50 throughout the period but the Predators struck late. With only :32 left in the period Ryan Johansen dug the puck out from along the boards and got it to Kevin Fiala who went top shelf over Ward’s blocker. This was the fifteenth consecutive game with giving up a goal in the first period.
Period 2
Just :45 into the period Dominik Kahun was tripped by Fiala the Blackhawks to the first power play of the game. It was much of the same for the league’s worst power play as they circle the puck around the offensive zone with little movement as shooting lanes closed up.
The Blackhawks did not convert but Kahun brought the puck up almost the entire length of the ice on the ensuing rush. He was able to get a hard backhand off but did not have an angle on Rinne who took it right in his chest.
Gustav Forsling was called for holding at 6:48 as he wrapped up Nick Bonino along the boards. The Blackhawks were solid and killed the penalty without any quality chances by the Predators.
After the back and forth play that the game featured all night, Forsling was able to tie the game at 1 with 4:38 left in the period. He brought the puck into the offensive zone and across the ice to the top of the left circle where he fired a wrist shot for the goal.
In an unfortunate event, Marcus Kruger ran into Hartman’s elbow as he went to play the puck. Kruger’s face was bloodied and he left the ice immediately.
Rocco Grimaldi tripped Brent Seabrook at 16:59 to send the Blackhawks to their second power play of the night. Jonathan Toews won the ensuing faceoff, passed it to Kane who then got it to Erik Gustafsson at the blue line and was able to ricochet his shot off a couple bodies and in. The goal made it 2-1 Blackhawks and that’s where the period ended.
Period 3
The game kept moving along in the third without any notable action until Ryan Ellis was called for tripping Saad at 6:12. The power play was uneventful as the Blackhawks were unable to convert.
Only :23 after the Blackhawks power play expired, Cam Ward was called for tripping. The penalty was served by Brendan Perlini and the Blackhawks were able to kill it. The highlight of the penalty kill was David Kampf showing some speed on a drive for a short-handed opportunity but once again Rinne cut off the shooting angles.
Both goaltenders continued to play stellar in the third period as the game stayed 2-1 Blackhawks throughout. With 2:49 left the Predators pulled Rinne for the extra attacker. They put some pressure on Ward but he stood strong.
The Predators called their timeout with 1:27 left to get their best offensive players a rest and draw up a play. The Blackhawks were able to get the draw and clear the zone without icing the puck ended up doing so :40 later. They were able to hang on from there to close out the 2-1 victory.
The young Blackhawks defenseman Forsling and Gustafsson were able to show their offensive prowess and each chipped in a goal. Ward was able to fight the Predators off with 30 saves and everyone contributed even if it didn’t show on the stat sheet.
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