In Chicago, Seth Jones staked the Blackhawks to a 1-0 lead in the first period on Saturday.
The problem was that was all the offense the Hawks mustered in a 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Newly acquired Tyson Barrie scored in the middle frame to give the Predators a 2-1 lead.
“It’s always emotional switching teams and all that comes with it, but guys have been great in here and I’m having a lot of fun so far,” Barrie said. “It’s nice to get the first out of the way. You don’t want to sit on a bagel with a new team for too long. I appreciate the good bounce there.”
Juuse Saros made 27 saves in the Nashville win.
“It’s been a hectic week, obviously, with all the trades and guys in and out,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “Now to be able to go on the road with a lot of new guys, and it’s a nice road trip, too, where we have a lot of games, but there are some days off where guys can spend more time together, which I think can be good, and getting out of Nashville for a little bit and being together on the road and keep pushing forward.”
The Predators improved to 31-23-6.
“I think it’s always nice to start great,” Chicago forward MacKenzie Entwistle said. “First shift we get a goal, then I thought we battled pretty hard most of the game. We limited their chances, and Mrazek played great. Obviously, it’s frustrating not being able to pull away with the win, but I thought we generated some offense. We had some chances, just maybe a little bit of puck luck and the game may be a little different.”
Philip Tomasino tied the game, 1-1, in the first period for Nashville.
Chicago dropped to 21-36-5 with their fourth straight loss.
“I thought the first part of the first two periods we played better, and then we kind of dropped off,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “We were more physical, skating, had the puck, driving offensive plays more … and then we seemed to be a little bit too much in the [defensive] zone and not enough in the [offensive] zone.
“But our guys played and our guys played to the game plan well. It kind of fell off a little bit for pace for me, but I think we’re still trying to find ourselves.”
Colton Sissons scored into an empty net with 30 seconds left on the third period clock for the 3-1 final.
“I didn’t think we got off to a great start to the game, but I thought we got our competitive juices going and managed the puck better, I thought, in the second and third period,” Hynes said. “We didn’t have a ton of emotion to start the game. I thought we worked. We controlled what we could control and found a way to get the win.”
Petr Mrazek made 22 saves in the loss.
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