Blackhawks Beat Predators 4-2 For 2-1 Series Lead
CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks used a three-goal second period to beat the Nashville Predators, 4-2, on Sunday for a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Marian Hossa had two assists and Scott Darling made 35 saves to help Chicago win for the 20th time in its last 24 postseason home games. Brandon Saad, Brent Seabrook and Andrew Desjardins also scored in an impressive response by the Blackhawks after Friday night's 6-2 loss in Nashville.
Darling, a native of the Chicago suburb of Lemont, made his first postseason start after Corey Crawford was ineffective in the first two games of the series. The rookie also replaced Crawford in Game 1 and made 42 saves as the Blackhawks rallied for a 4-3 victory in double overtime.
Mike Ribeiro and Mattias Ekholm scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne had 26 saves.
The Predators' convincing victory in Game 2 led Chicago coach Joel Quenneville to try a different look for the Blackhawks' first home game of the playoffs. Darling was in goal, and forwards Antoine Vermette and Desjardins entered the lineup after they were healthy scratches for the first two games.
The Predators were without star defenseman Shea Weber and forward Mike Fisher, who were sidelined by lower-body injuries. Fisher is day to day, but Weber did not travel with the team to Chicago and likely will be out for Game 4 on Tuesday night as well.
Chicago acquired Vermette and Desjardins in a pair of trades right before the deadline, but the veterans had struggled with the Blackhawks. Given another chance in the playoffs, Desjardins responded with his best game since the March 2 trade with San Jose.
Desjardins' first playoff goal in three years gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 14:48 of the first. He also keyed a long stretch in the Nashville zone in the second that Seabrook finished with a hard wrist shot from the high slot, making it 4-2 with 7:19 left in the period.
Weber left in the second period of Game 2 after he was checked into the boards by Saad. The captain usually pairs with Roman Josi on Nashville's top defense pairing and is a key part of the Predators' special teams.
Without Weber on the ice, the Blackhawks' top line of Saad, Toews and Hossa hurt Nashville all game long, especially in the second.
Hossa made a nice drop pass to Toews for the center's second goal of the series just 36 seconds into the period, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead. After Ekholm responded for Nashville just 22 seconds later, Saad took the puck from Predators forward Colin Wilson and beat Rinne with a perfectly placed shot off the inside of the left post at 3:38.
Toews then picked up an assist with a nice pass on Seabrook's 13th career playoff goal. The captain has a team-high five points in the series.
Hossa also was at the center of a strange sequence at the end of the first. He was sent off for hooking at 17:54, but was still in the box after the two-minute minor expired. It looked as if the Predators thought there should be more time put back on the clock, but the referees conferred and eventually announced that the period was over.
NOTES: With Weber out, D Victor Bartley made his first appearance of the series. ... To make room for Vermette and Desjardins, the Blackhawks put Joakim Nordstrom and Teuvo Teravainen on the inactive list. Teravainen had a big assist that helped Chicago rally in Game 1.
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