Nashville Predators 1, Chicago Blackhawks 3: Preds Lose One on the Road

The Nashville Predators put first place in the division on the line for the second game in a row, as they visited the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

The game was a lot closer than the scoreboard (and the eye test) indicated, but the Preds could not spend much time in the Hawks zone at times. Despite a gorgeous goal by Colin Wilson, Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa downed the Predators and claimed the top spot in the Central.

Random Observations

• Hawks fans cheered through "God Bless America" tonight. Maybe try to keep them guessing, next time. Look, I come from an area where words like "RED" and "O" are shouted in unison. I get that it's a tradition in Chicago. But if you spit on the floor in your own home, don't get butthurt when people call you out for doing it in theirs.
• Listen, we aren't saying ALL Blackhawks fans are terrible. Not at all. There are plenty of people in all 30 fan bases that will make their team look horrible. The problem comes when the same group of people consistently travel down and act a fool and make the game experience downright unenjoyable. There's nothing wrong with trash talking, cheering or being loud in another arena. That's just hockey. But assaulting police officers, trashing the arena, passing out in the stands, and trying to start altercations with fans because they aren't wearing red is crossing the line. Somehow, other team's fans don't do this. Hmm.
• Brandon Saad, Mr. Saginaw Spirit, got the Hawks on the board first, beating Rinne glove side by coming down the left wing boards. You maybe could argue that that's a save Pekka should have, but holy cow that was a hell of a shot.
• Early in the second period, Saad strikes again. This time with a beeeeautiful pass to Marian "Refuses to Age" Hossa, who had no problem tucking the puck into an open net. Give all the credit to Saad on the set up, because scoring that goal was the equivalent of rolling a basketball into a garage.
• It looked like the Blackhawks were dominating the Preds throughout the entire game, but it was a lot closer than the eye test would indicate. Still, extremely frustrating that the Preds couldn't put more through old Admirals darling... uh, Scott Darling.
• WIIIILLSOOONN!!! Colin Wilson made it a game by sniping a shot through Darling's 7-hole.
• Unfortunately, that would be all she wrote, as the Preds couldn't muster anything in the third period beyond that.
• Tough road loss.. tough road loss./

END GRAPH

OTF's Super Duper Stars of the Game

• HAWKS FANZ - SINCE THEY BOUGHT TICKETS TO THE GAME
• HAWKZ FANS - SINCE THEY CARE MORE ABOUT HOCKEY THAN PREDZ FANS
• HUCKS FENZ - SEECE TEHYA ARE SOBUR ENOUGAOHI TO TYEYPA THIS AND WOO FRSI PLACC/

Sucks that the Preds lost this game, especially give the way they played. However, they have a couple of winnable games coming up this week, and it doesn't matter who wins the Central this year. It matters who does what after it's all said and done.

Tweets of the Game

Elevator attendant tells me there are too many Chicago fans "so drunk that they don't even know where they are" #preds #blackhawks

— Eric Stromgren (@estromgren) December 7, 2014

@OnTheForecheck @estromgren you both understand that these fans are on vacation in the drinking capital of the south, right?

— Jay Zawaski (@JayZawaski670) December 7, 2014

(Oh, in that case it's totally OK to be a drunken idiot)

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