Nashville 7, Chicago 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 16, 2013
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Francis Charron, Dave Jackson
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Brad Lazarowich
Attendance:
17113
By SportsDirect Inc.
Predators 7, Blackhawks 2: Craig Smith had a goal and two assists and Nashville celebrated its return home from a lengthy road trip by thrashing Chicago to snap a four-game losing streak.
Matt Cullen, Patric Hornqvist and captain Shea Weber each had a goal and an assist and Nick Spaling, former Blackhawk Viktor Stalberg and Mike Fisher also tallied for the Predators, who were outscored 17-2 in the final four contests of their seven-game, 17-day trek. Rookie Marek Mazanec earned his first NHL victory by making 39 saves to halt the Blackhawks' four-game winning streak.
Patrick Kane and Brandon Pirri scored for Chicago, which lost backup goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to a lower-body injury late in the first period. Corey Crawford turned aside 17 shots as the Blackhawks absorbed their first regulation defeat in nine games (7-1-1).
Nashville got a pair of goals 57 seconds apart from Cullen and Spaling to take a 2-0 lead against Khabibulin, who was hurt with 4:27 left in the opening period. Hornqvist tipped in a slap shot by defenseman Roman Josi on the power play and Smith put a backhander by Crawford for a 4-0 edge at 18:18 of the second period but Kane got the Blackhawks on the board 26 seconds later.
Pirri's goal shortly after a power play expired cut the deficit to 4-2 at 6:14 of the third, but Stalberg abruptly halted the comeback by scoring 15 seconds later to restore the three-goal edge. Fisher and Weber scored less than two minutes apart to complete the drubbing.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Khabibulin, making his first start since Oct. 29, was hurt attempting to make a sprawling save and had to be assisted off the ice while hunched over. ... Josi and C David Legwand had two assists each while Weber collected his 300th career point with his assist on Hornqvist's goal. ... Blackhawks F Marian Hossa was a surprise scratch before the game due to a lower-body injury. Hossa sat out Friday's practice, but coach Joel Quenneville termed it a rest day.
Top Game Performances
| Chicago |
|
Nashville |
|
Patrick Kane 1 |
Points |
Craig Smith 3 |
|
Patrick Kane 1 |
Goals |
Craig Smith 1 |
|
Brandon Bollig 1 |
Assists |
Craig Smith 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Patric Hornqvist 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Corey Crawford .773 |
Save Percentage |
Marek Mazanec .951 |
|
Corey Crawford 17 |
Saves |
Marek Mazanec 39 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Chicago
|
41 |
2 |
0-4 |
3-5 |
15 |
24 |
| Nashville
|
30 |
7 |
2-5 |
4-4 |
13 |
43 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Predators have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Chicago will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .643 after a win and .667 after a loss.
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