Game Day Preview: Chicago Blackhawks @ Nashville Predators

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 15, 2009 3:11 PM EDT

There's little time to stew over last night's disappointing effort in Dallas, as the Preds return to the Sommet Center tonight for the first Central Division battle of the season, against the high-flying Chicago Blackhawks.

There are two important notes for fans coming to tonight's game. First, there will be a celebration of Steve Sullivan's Masterton Trophy (including free posters for the first 10,000), and there's also a baby supply drive being conducted tonight to support the Martha O'Bryan Center, so bring donations to drop off on your way in.

If you don't have tickets yet for the Predators vs. the Blackhawks, follow this link and use the offer code "PREDS" for a special discount. While you're at it, take the money you save and buy some baby supplies to bring to the arena.

Now... on to the matchup!

Meet the Enemy

The Blackhawks are coming into town after having played last night as well, a 4-3 win at home over the Edmonton Oilers. With a 4-1-1 record, they've been able to overcome shoddy goaltending with outstanding offense. I know this sounds like cheating, but 12 different Blackhawks have already scored goals this season, led by Patrick Sharp with 5.

They've had an eventful off-season, to say the least between all the front-office drama, the trade for Marian Hossa and his subsequent shoulder surgery, and of course the infamous Patrick Kane incident in Buffalo. Check out Second City Hockey's season preview for all you need to catch up on our rivals from the Windy City.

Per Second City Hockey, the Chicago lines look as follows:

Byfuglien - Bolland - Kane
Verseeg - Toews - Sharp
Ladd - Madden- Brouwer
Kopecky - Fraser - Skille

Keith - Seabrook
Campbell - Hjalmarsson
Sopel- Barker

Meet the Good Guys

What are we going to see in terms of line combinations tonight? With Santorelli sent down to Milwaukee, Cal O'Reilly called up, and J.P. Dumont back in action, it would appear that things are, shall we say, "fluid" at the moment.

I'm not even going to speculate on lines, that's what I have you guys for! Sound off in the comments...

Even Strength Play

Chicago holds a 15-13 scoring advantage in even strength action, while the Preds are (gulp) getting outscored 11-5. ugh.

Chicago PP vs. Nashville PK

The Blackhawks are off to a good start on the power play, having converted 6 of 24 chances so far. Since they allowed 2 PP goals to Dallas, the Preds have sunk to 24th in the league, with a 68.4% PK rate. Double-ugh.

Nashville PP vs. Chicago PK

The Preds have now slipped to 1-for-17 on the power play, and haven't scored with the man advantage since 1:48 into the opening game. So much for the notion that having Steve Sullivan available from the start of training camp would lead to significant change on that front (at least so far...). The Chicago PK has killed 16 of 20 chances (80%), an average NHL success rate. Triple-ugh.

Goaltending

Pekka Rinne

#35 / Goalie / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 206

Born: Nov 03, 1982

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Pekka Rinne	3	132	0	2			8	3.64	74	66	.892	0

The announced plan from earlier this week was that Pekka Rinne would get tonight's start, but does the fact that he played almost the whole game last night change that?

Cristobal Huet

#39 / Goalie / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Born: Sep 03, 1975

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Cristobal Huet	4	195	1	1			12	3.69	71	59	.831	0

The Blackhawks are probably feeling a bit of buyer's remorse after signing Christobal Huet to a major contract in the summer of 2008. He failed to seize the #1 job last season, and has been outperformed by Finnish rookie Antti Niemi in the six Chicago games so far. It must have been a slap in the face for Huet when Edmonton came to town last night, and he didn't get the chance to play in a highly anticipated matchup against the prior #1 in Chicago, Nikolai Khabibulin.

Summary

Will the return of Dumont motivate the Preds to a stronger, more disciplined performance tonight? When things get chaotic, a strong shock needs to be delivered, and what this team needs tonight is a dynamic game by their leadership (Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont-Weber-Suter), along with a workmanlike, hard-nosed effort by the supporting cast. If there's a motto for tonight, it should be "No Passengers Allowed".

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Comments

lines....

Here’s my roll of the dice:

Sully-Arnott-JP
Erat -Wilson-Ward
Leggy-O’Reilly-Hornqvist
Smithers/Jones-Goc-Belak/Guite

No Ideas what to do with the D….besides the obvious which isn’t an option….

by Tim P on Oct 15, 2009 3:45 PM EDT reply actions

Tom tweeted earlier...

Took look for O’Reilly with Legwand and Erat tonight, possibly Ward. Therefore, I’m gonna go with:

Sullivan – Arnott – Dumont
Ward – Wilson – Hornqvist
Legwand – O’Reilly – Erat
Smithson – Goc – Guite

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Oct 15, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually...

Tom tweeted O’Reilly with Legwand and Ward, possibly Erat therefore…

Sullivan – Arnott – Dumont
Erat – Wilson – Hornqvist
Legwand – O’Reilly – Ward
Smithson – Goc – Guite

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Oct 15, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

I Wonder...

I wonder if Trotz is giving much thought about changing his defensive pairings.

I might try hiding Klein a little more by letting him play with the most experienced defenseman in Bouillon and letting Laakso play with Hamhuis.

I could also see a decision that says that Klein is not long for Nashville and he’s either traded or moved to the role of 7th defenseman and replaced by a call-up or another veteran FA- especially since Klein is a RFA at season’s end.

I still like these lines better:

Legwand-Arnott-Dumont
Sullivan-Wilson-Erat
Hornqvist-O’Reilly-Ward
Smithson-Goc-Guite/Jones

However, it’s the power play units I’m most interested in seeing. At some point, they have to change those units around.

My Blog @ http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?author=59

by David Singleton on Oct 15, 2009 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Guarantee...

It has been mentioned by Sully and Arnott that they were promised this summer that as long as the three of them were healthy, that Sullivan, Arnott, and Dumont are healthy, that they would be playing together.

Therefore, I don’t see the line breaking up unless they ask for it to be broken up, especially tonight where Dumont has asked back into the lineup…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Oct 15, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions

That's true...

Of course, if Trotz truly senses his job is in jeopardy (and I have no knowledge either way) and he believes it to be for the betterment of the team, I would fully expect him to address the possibility with those three.

Leaders try to do what’s best for the team as a whole. Witness Yzerman moving off the top line as there was a better role for him to play at that time for the team.

Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison since Detroit had very capable players to play Yzerman’s original role, but the example in leadership applies.

My Blog @ http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?author=59

by David Singleton on Oct 15, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions