Nashville 6, Chicago 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, March 25, 2012
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen:
Tony Sericolo, Jonny Murray
Attendance:
21463
By SportsDirect Inc.
PREDATORS 6, BLACKHAWKS 1: Patric Hornqvist netted his team-leading 25th goal and Pekka Rinne turned aside 24 shots for his NHL-best 41st win as visiting Nashville moved into fourth place in the Western Conference by routing Chicago.
Hornqvist joined captain Shea Weber, Mike Fisher and Matt Halischuk by collecting a goal and an assist apiece as the Predators improved to 4-0-1 versus the Blackhawks.
Defenseman Francis Bouillon and Andrei Kostitsyn also tallied and Alexander Radulov had an assist for his third point in as many contests for Nashville, which leapfrogged idle Detroit for fourth spot in the West.
Viktor Stalberg spoiled Rinne's bid for his 25th career shutout at 5:58 of the third period, but Weber regained the four-goal advantage just 36 seconds later with a blast after an offensive faceoff.
Corey Crawford was pulled after yielding four goals on 15 shots for the Blackhawks, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
Halischuk opened the scoring 6:16 into the first period after accepting Brandon Yip's centering feed and wristing a shot off Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya and past Crawford. The tally was Halischuk's 14th.
After Kostitsyn doubled the advantage over nine minutes later, Nashville extended its lead early in the second period after Weber's blast caromed off both the right skate of Radulov and Hornqvist before squeezing inside the post.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Marin Erat, who leads the Predators with 57 points, was scratched with an upper body injury. ... Nashville's Jordin Tootoo suffered an upper body injury following a first-period fight with Brandon Bollig. He did not return. ... Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith served the opener of his five-game suspension. ... Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his 16th straight contest with a concussion.
Top Game Performances
| Nashville |
|
Chicago |
|
Mike Fisher 2 |
Points |
Viktor Stalberg 1 |
|
Mike Fisher 1 |
Goals |
Viktor Stalberg 1 |
|
Mike Fisher 1 |
Assists |
Nick Leddy 1 |
|
Patric Hornqvist 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Pekka Rinne .960 |
Save Percentage |
Ray Emery .778 |
|
Pekka Rinne 24 |
Saves |
Corey Crawford 11 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Nashville
|
24 |
6 |
1-2 |
4-4 |
13 |
33 |
| Chicago
|
25 |
1 |
0-4 |
1-2 |
9 |
29 |
Upcoming Games
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .619 after a win and .471 after a loss.
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Predators have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .625 after a loss.
For more information, contact us