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The Nashville Predators gamely fought back from a two-goal deficit to tie tonight's game in the third period, but it wasn't enough as they fell in a 5-round shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks. The single point in the standings earned tonight temporarily moves Nashville into 10th place, pending the rest of the night's action. According to SportsClubStats, this result lifts the Preds' playoff chances from 14.1% all the way up to 15.1%.
I think it's safe to say that despite the concerns over the talent level on this team, the amount of effort isn't open to question. Down 2-0 after two periods against the best team in the conference, they could have folded the tent, but they came out and dominated the third.
Gabriel Bourque, the Preds' leading goal scorer, left early with a nefarious upper body injury. The suspicion lies with a high hit from Daniel Carcillo. Will the league office have anything to say about it?
The Predators return home tonight for a three-game home stand to finish out the week, against Colorado (Tuesday), Columbus (Thursday) and Chicago (Saturday). With so many teams in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the West, there is very, very little margin for error.
Every game counts. There's no room left for any moral victories.
Random Observations
- Pekka Rinne probably deserved a better fate, he made a number of strong saves, not the least of which came in the shootout against Patrick Kane.
- How surprising was it to see defenseman Michal Roszival score the shootout winner? Blueliners usually don't show those kinds of hands.
- David Legwand's poke to knock a loose puck through Corey Crawford for the first Nashville score was a real beauty. Old age & treachery will beat out youth & enthusiasm any day...
Boxscore - Game Summary - Event Summary
Roll the video highlights (typically available 30-45 minutes after game time)...
And your advanced stats...
Nashville Predators
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Paul Gaustad | C | 23:06 | 18 | 22 | -4 | -3 | -3 |
| Martin Erat | R | 22:01 | 18 | 15 | +3 | -2 | +4 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | L | 21:55 | 19 | 16 | +3 | -2 | +4 |
| David Legwand | C | 15:51 | 17 | 8 | +9 | +3 | +8 |
| Patric Hornqvist | R | 14:31 | 14 | 7 | +7 | +3 | +6 |
| Nick Spaling | C | 14:24 | 5 | 22 | -17 | 0 | -17 |
| Craig Smith | C | 13:17 | 8 | 17 | -9 | +1 | -9 |
| Rich Clune | L | 12:05 | 5 | 10 | -5 | +1 | -5 |
| Taylor Beck | L | 10:59 | 9 | 6 | +3 | +4 | +1 |
| Brandon Yip | R | 9:14 | 5 | 19 | -14 | -1 | -14 |
| Matt Halischuk | R | 9:01 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 0 | -11 |
| Gabriel Bourque | L | 4:31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | +1 | -0 |
| Shea Weber | D | 28:34 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 0 | -3 |
| Roman Josi | D | 27:19 | 21 | 27 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
| Kevin Klein | D | 22:20 | 19 | 23 | -4 | +1 | -4 |
| Victor Bartley | D | 19:31 | 18 | 19 | -1 | +1 | -1 |
| Hal Gill | D | 11:41 | 3 | 13 | -10 | +1 | -10 |
| Jonathon Blum | D | 10:07 | 4 | 8 | -4 | +1 | -4 |
Chicago Blackhawks
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Jonathan Toews | C | 21:42 | 16 | 12 | +4 | -4 | +6 |
| Patrick Kane | R | 19:23 | 14 | 22 | -8 | -2 | -7 |
| Brandon Saad | L | 18:24 | 11 | 15 | -4 | -1 | -4 |
| Andrew Shaw | C | 18:13 | 17 | 13 | +4 | +2 | +3 |
| Michael Frolik | R | 14:52 | 11 | 11 | 0 | -2 | +1 |
| Viktor Stalberg | L | 14:36 | 17 | 5 | +12 | +2 | +11 |
| Marcus Kruger | C | 14:00 | 14 | 10 | +4 | -2 | +5 |
| Bryan Bickell | L | 13:03 | 18 | 5 | +13 | +1 | +13 |
| Jimmy Hayes | R | 11:49 | 8 | 13 | -5 | +1 | -5 |
| Daniel Carcillo | L | 10:25 | 13 | 7 | +6 | +1 | +6 |
| Jeremy Morin | L | 9:14 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 0 | +7 |
| Dave Bolland | C | 5:14 | 3 | 5 | -2 | -1 | -2 |
| Duncan Keith | D | 22:38 | 23 | 14 | +9 | +1 | +9 |
| Michal Rozsival | D | 20:30 | 22 | 10 | +12 | -4 | +14 |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | D | 19:56 | 17 | 9 | +8 | +1 | +8 |
| Johnny Oduya | D | 19:33 | 22 | 9 | +13 | -3 | +14 |
| Nick Leddy | D | 18:33 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 0 | -5 |
| Brent Seabrook | D | 18:22 | 15 | 24 | -9 | +1 | -9 |