Despite a furious push in the final moments, the Nashville Predators were shut out for a league-leading 7th time today, dropping a 1-0 decision to Chicago in front of a Bridgestone Arena crowd that featured a large and vocal contingent of Blackhawks fans.
The Predators had their chances to get back in the game, with four minutes of power play time in the 3rd period thanks to a Dan Carcillo double-minor for high-sticking, but the Preds failed to muster a shot on goal during that man advantage. The loss reduces Nashville’s playoff chances to just 2.7%, according to SportsClubStats.
From here, of course, the two teams jet up to Chicago for a rematch tomorrow evening at the United Center. Make sure to tune into 102.5 The Game’s coverage of that one, as I’m joining Willy Daunic in studio for post-game analysis…
Random Observations
- Gads, Jon Blum played that 2-on-1 in the first period terribly, leading to Chicago’s opening goal. The first rule of a defenseman in that situation is not to allow the pass across: instead he sold out completely and left Rinne hanging with no chance to make a save. Bobby Butler didn’t help either, wandering into the middle of the ice rather than apply back pressure to Handzus.
- You’ve got to admire the effort Patric Hornqvist put in to prevent an empty net goal with 1:30 left, but much like Mike Fisher’s blocked shot against Phoenix last week, you wish they didn’t have to come in such desperate straits.
- With Paul Gaustad out (again) due to an upper body injury, the Predators only won 20 of 49 faceoffs. Even Chris Mueller has a rough day, winning just 3 of 10.
- Sure, the Blackhawks fans came out in force for this one, but hey, if I were a Chicago supporter a game like this would make for a great weekend. Take in an afternoon game, and still have all evening to enjoy the night life in Nashville. Oh, to have a life…
Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary
Roll the video highlights…
And for your advanced stats…
Nashville Predators
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| David Legwand | C | 17:53 | 16 | 12 | +4 | +1 | +4 |
| Taylor Beck | L | 16:34 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 0 | +2 |
| Patric Hornqvist | R | 16:06 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 0 | +3 |
| Nick Spaling | C | 15:32 | 17 | 18 | -1 | +2 | -2 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | L | 14:28 | 18 | 16 | +2 | +3 | +1 |
| Mike Fisher | C | 13:58 | 15 | 16 | -1 | +3 | -2 |
| Craig Smith | C | 11:45 | 9 | 12 | -3 | +1 | -3 |
| Brandon Yip | R | 11:32 | 11 | 15 | -4 | +1 | -4 |
| Chris Mueller | C | 10:14 | 4 | 13 | -9 | -1 | -9 |
| Matt Halischuk | R | 10:12 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 0 | -9 |
| Rich Clune | L | 10:09 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 0 | -8 |
| Bobby Butler | R | 8:59 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
| Roman Josi | D | 24:41 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 0 | -4 |
| Shea Weber | D | 24:16 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 0 | -4 |
| Kevin Klein | D | 16:07 | 15 | 18 | -3 | +3 | -4 |
| Victor Bartley | D | 15:49 | 12 | 19 | -7 | +3 | -8 |
| Jonathon Blum | D | 12:19 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 0 | -3 |
| Hal Gill | D | 10:48 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
Chicago Blackhawks
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Jonathan Toews | C | 16:30 | 22 | 8 | +14 | -1 | +14 |
| Brandon Saad | L | 14:33 | 20 | 8 | +12 | -1 | +12 |
| Marian Hossa | R | 14:27 | 18 | 7 | +11 | -1 | +11 |
| Daniel Carcillo | L | 14:12 | 17 | 11 | +6 | +2 | +5 |
| Marcus Kruger | C | 13:58 | 12 | 14 | -2 | -2 | -1 |
| Michal Handzus | C | 12:17 | 12 | 8 | +4 | -4 | +6 |
| Andrew Shaw | C | 12:12 | 7 | 17 | -10 | -1 | -10 |
| Viktor Stalberg | L | 11:11 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 0 | +6 |
| Bryan Bickell | L | 10:59 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 0 | +5 |
| Michael Frolik | R | 10:45 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 0 | -5 |
| Brandon Bollig | L | 9:33 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 0 | -8 |
| Duncan Keith | D | 22:37 | 15 | 22 | -7 | -2 | -6 |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | D | 21:45 | 14 | 18 | -4 | -2 | -3 |
| Brent Seabrook | D | 16:11 | 24 | 11 | +13 | -1 | +13 |
| Nick Leddy | D | 15:28 | 26 | 11 | +15 | -1 | +15 |
| Sheldon Brookbank | D | 14:09 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 0 | +2 |
| Johnny Oduya | D | 13:55 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 0 | +3 |
| Jonathon Blum | D | 11:49 | 10 | 14 | -4 | +2 | -5 |