Hawks visit Nashville in the first of a home and home series. Nashville is giving chase to the Hawks for the division, trailing by only 4 points going into this game. These teams have faces each other 4 times this season and have split the series 2-2.

Game Recap:

The first period had limited scoring chances, for either team. The Predators’ didn’t help themselves much my giving up back-to-back penalties on a pair of tripping calls. In those 4 minutes, the Hawks were able to capitalize. After a Pred’s turnover deep on the kill, Toews slid the puck to Byfuglien at the point who threw a writ shot on net that beat Rinne. Brouwer had another monster screen on net, and that was the key to the Hawks making the most on this defensive giveaway.

The second period opened up with Erat scoring on a breakaway. Huet made the save, but slid into the net, allow the puck to squeak through his pads. Initial call on the ice was “no goal”, but after video review, it was good. Edzo, still insisted the ref intended to call the play dead before he indicated it. To no avail. This video review made the right call. Game knotted at 1. Just 5 minutes later, the Hawks opened up the scoring with 2 goals in a minutes. At the 12 minutes mark, Kane and Brouwer came in on a 2-on-1. Pred’s D did a good job taking away the pass to Brouwer. Too bad, they left Kaner in alone on Rinne. Kane hit the top corner, beating Rinne high to the glove side. Just 60 seconds later, the Hawks crowded the Pred’s crease and Ladd was able to punch in a rebound, assist to Kopecky. Kane wasn’t on the scoresheet but was a big part of this goal. The play developed off Kane’s ability to circle and get the puck to Campbell on the point. As the period winded down, Sharp gave the Blackhawks a 4-1 edge off a rebound. End of 2, 4-1.

Essentially, this game was over. Going through the motions in the last 20, Nashville was limited to 8 shots on goal, none of them were quality scoring chances.

This game was a total team victory. All lines contributed, hell, Kopecky had 2 assists. He doubled his assists total for the season (4). The Hawks had good traffic to the net. Big win and a statement for this Division match up. Coach Q called this “The Perfect Road Game”. The PK went 1 for 3 on limited play. The PK was perfect, keeping quality chances down. Nice win.

Game Notes:
- This extends the Hawks lead to 6 points in the division.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):
Patrick Kane – Kaner was the bet player on the ice, had 1G 1A and figured into the 3rd goal, just wasn’t on the scoresheet.