A couple of hotties meet as Blackhawks face Predators (Nov 28, 2017)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As the Nashville Predators try to cap one of the best months in team history, they welcome back a familiar rival to start the season's longest homestand Tuesday night.
The Chicago Blackhawks are making their first trip to Bridgestone Arena since enduring a four-game sweep at Nashville's hands in the Western Conference quarterfinals last April, a result that sparked a spate of changes for one of the NHL's glamour franchises.
Those changes, at least lately, seem to be working. Chicago (12-8-3) has won four of five, drumming Anaheim 7-3 on Monday night as rookie Alex DeBrincat notched a hat trick and Patrick Kane collected three assists.
The Blackhawks overran the Ducks so completely that Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle pulled goalie John Gibson early in the second period, feeling it was unfair to Gibson to endure 60 minutes of Chicago's relentless attack.
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville knows there probably will be a little more pushback from his next opponent.
"Nashville is as hot as any team in the league right now," he said. "We've seen them, and we know how good you've got to be to beat them. We've got to be at our best. It should be a loud and fun game."
Although the Predators (14-6-3) are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss at Carolina on Sunday, they are 9-1-1 in their past 11 games and have a chance to finish November with 11 wins in 14 outings. The Tuesday game is the first of four straight at home for Nashville, which is 8-1-1 in its raucous building.
Predators coach Peter Laviolette wasn't terribly upset with the loss against the Hurricanes, feeling his team created enough chances to earn two points after a sluggish first period.
"We played better and had our looks," he said of his team's play during the final 45 minutes.
It will be the third meeting of the Central Division rivals this season. The first two occurred at the United Center.
Chicago posted a 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 14, and Nashville took a 2-1 decision on Oct. 27 as Pekka Rinne kicked out 43 of 44 shots.
Rinne (13-3-2, 2.31 goals-against average, .927 save percentage) should get the start Tuesday night after blanking the St. Louis Blues 2-0 Friday night for his 45th career shutout, most by a Finnish goalie.
"He's been the backbone, and we need him to keep doing what he's doing," Predators center Ryan Johansen said of Rinne.
The Blackhawks probably will use backup Anton Forsberg (1-1-2, 3.81, .904) after Corey Crawford picked up the win Monday night. Like Rinne, Crawford has been a workhorse this year, but with Chicago playing five games in seven days this week, Forsberg figures to get a couple of starts.
This season's matchups notwithstanding, the teams tend to play free-wheeling games with 4-3 and 5-4 scores being more likely than 2-1.
With weapons such as Kane and Artem Anisimov for the Blackhawks, as well as Filip Forsberg and red-hot Mattias Ekholm for the Predators, the red light could be busy.
Kane has scored in seven straight games, collecting four goals and seven assists. Anisimov has six goals in the past six games.
Forsberg leads Nashville with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists), and Ekholm (6-9-15) has three multi-point games in his past seven contests.
