Hawks Win!!! Hawks Win!!!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators tonight 4-3 to take the series four games to two and advance to the next round where they will face the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Semifinals. This will be the second consecutive year that the two teams will face each other in the playoffs.
 
Tonight’s game could be divided in three different games with all the scoring happening in the first period alone, except for the empty net goal scored by John Madden in the waning seconds of the game. The Nashville Predators got some relief back into the game as regular goal-scoring leader right wing Patric Hornqvist returned back to the lineup.
 
The first of the seven goals scored in the first frame occurred at the 6:38 mark when defenseman and Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith settled the puck on the blue-line and fired a slap shot that got in past a diving Pekka Rinne. Right wing Tomas Kopecky was in front of the net causing traffic and a screen to make the shot happen. This was Keith’s first goal of the series.
 
A little over two minutes later the Predators tied it up as Colin Wilson and Jordan Tootoo set the puck up from behind the goal out to defenseman Shea Weber who took a step across and hit the wrist shot in on Antti Niemi.
 
Now we have the cascade of goals. A minute later off the faceoff, defenseman Brent Seabrook took the puck and took a shot the looked like it was going to glide against the boards around towards the Nashville net. Rinne was coming out the meet the puck but the instead of going around the puck deflected off of Patrick Kane’s skate and went on in for the goal as Rinne was trying to dive back in towards his net.
 
Chicago then took a 3-1 lead, as center Marian Hossa rushed down the far lane and passed to puck to himself. He then skated around the net and fired a shot. It rebounded and Patrick Sharp took three whacks before getting it airborne and in.
 
Then the Predators made their charge. On the power play, captain Jason Arnott finally got his first goal of the series on a wrister following a rebound shot from Hornqvist. This was also the first man-advantage goal that the team has scored in close to twenty tries.
 
With a minute left to play in the period is was Arnott again as Dan Hamhuis received the puck from the point and fired a bullet towards the net the was deflected in by Arnott stick to tie the score at three.
With thirty-one seconds left, Sharp got the puck in on net from the point and Jonathan Toews was waiting. He went on through the crease untouched, got the puck and circled around Rinne and got it in around the netminder’s glove.
 
The second period was dominated by Chicago who had 16 shots compared to Nashville’s four. But the shots came mainly on the four power play opportunities that the team had but could not convert on.
 
The same thing happened in the third, but the roles were reversed as Nashville had 15 chances to Chicago’s three. They also couldn’t convert on the three penalties the Blackhawks were called for.
 
Niemi saved 25 of the 28 shots he faced while Rinne was 27 for 31. Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook finally had a game that was expected of him with two big assists, but the biggest part he had was after making a big turnover, he rushed back and made a huge block of a shot to save the game. He skated off the bench towards the locker room but soon came back out after shaking the affects of the puck.
Earlier in the evening the Nashville Predators faced a double loss as their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals lost in game seven to, who else, the other Chicago team in the Atlanta Thrashers affiliate Wolves by a score of 2-1.
Contact matt.chin@prohockeynews.com