Predators look for a way to tame Blackhawks (Mar 04, 2017)
During the last month, the Nashville Predators have been the top-scoring team in the league.
They'll need to continue that production to try and end a losing streak against the team directly above them in the Central Division -- and one that's playing perhaps its best hockey of the season.
The Predators look to avoid a fourth straight loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the season-series finale on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in a game that has the potential to feature plenty of offensive fireworks from both clubs.
Since Feb. 4, Nashville (32-23-9) and Chicago (41-18-5) have been prolific at putting the puck in the net. In 13 games, and despite Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the Predators have scored a league-high 47 goals, two more than the Blackhawks.
"We are in the entertainment business. I think if I was a fan, I'd never leave early from one of our games," general manager David Poile told the Predators' official website.
Indeed, Nashville has scored at least four goals in nine of the last 13 games, and
two players who have spearheaded the offense are Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi. They're tied for fifth leaguewide in scoring during that stretch.
Forsberg posted 11 goals with five assists and was named the league's second star of the month for February. He has a team-best 26 goals and with 49 points is tied with Ryan Johansen as the Preds' top scorer.
"He's gone through ups and downs this year," Predators captain Mike Fisher told The Tennessean of Forsberg. "He had a tough start, and I know he learned a lot from it. He's become a better player. That's a sign of a great thing. He's been as hot as anyone. It's been fun to watch."
Josi, a defenseman, also had 16 points, including six goals -- four with the man advantage.
But Chicago has easily contained Forsberg and Josi, limiting each to one goal and one assist in four games.
With 73 points, Nashville is third in the Central Division but trails second-place Chicago by 14 points with 18 games remaining. That sizable gap would be narrower if the Predators had played better in the series. After a one-goal win at home in the season opener on Oct. 14, Nashville has been outscored 13-7 while dropping the next three meetings.
The Blackhawks continued to put some distance between themselves and the Predators by rallying for a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders on Friday. Artemi Panarin scored his 20th goal of the season with 1:14 to play in regulation and buried the winner in the tiebreaker.
"I think there was obviously more desperation being down a goal. We weren't thrilled with how we played the first couple of periods, but we were moving pucks, and getting up on the play and just skating better," Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith said.
The Blackhawks have won 10 of 11 and outscored their opponents by a nearly 2-to-1 margin since Feb. 4. The surge has pushed Chicago within one point of the Central Division-leading Minnesota Wild.
Neither Patrick Kane nor Jonathan Toews registered a point Friday, but they remain tied for second in the league in scoring during the past month. In the last 11 games, Kane had 11 goals and six assists. Toews posted seven goals with 10 assists en route to being named the league's first star for February.
This season, Kane leads Chicago in scoring against Nashville with seven points (one goal, six assists). Ryan Hartman and Richard Panik have paced the Blackhawks with three goals each on a combined 12 shots.
Chicago may have Nick Schmaltz and Artem Anisimov back for this matchup.
Schmaltz, a rookie who missed Friday's game with an illness, has two goals and seven assists in a five-game points streak. Anisimov, who sat out against the Islanders with an upper-body injury earlier in the week, has 22 goals in 59 games and needs one more to set a season high.
However, coach Joel Quenneville said late Friday that backup goaltender Scott Darling will miss up to three weeks with an upper-body injury suffered during the morning skate.
Jeff Glass, recalled from Rockford of the AHL, could make his NHL debut in this game.
