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| - Lineup |
 Yanic Perreault Post-Game Video |
| P. Lalime / K. Adams Post-Game Video |
| Denis Savard Post-Game Video |
| - Photo Gallery |
Nashville scored on its first two shots of the game and then held off the Blackhawks to register a 5-2 victory in a Central Division battle at the United Center Sunday.
The Predators won their 3rd straight to even their record to 7-7 while the Hawks saw its two-game win streak end to fall back to 7-7.
David Legwand notched his 6th goal of the campaign 83 seconds into the game when he found himself all alone in front of the net after taking a pass from Alexander Radulov to beat Nikolai Khabibulin.
Less than two minutes later on a power play, Radulov took a cross-ice pass from Ryan Suter to fire a 20-footer over Khabibulin's glove to make it 2-0.
Midway through the opening period, the Hawks enjoyed a two-man advantage and rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane worked a pass to veteran Robert Lang who buried a 10-footer for his 6th goal.
Nashville made it 3-1 at 18:23 with Martin Erat deflecting J.P. Dumont's pass from just outside the crease.
Chicago outshot Nashville 12-6 in the period and 32-19 for the game, but Predators goalie Chris Mason made several key saves.
In the 2nd period, Hawks coach Denis Savard inserted goalie Patrick Lalime to try to shake up his team.
Midway through the frame, the Hawks cut the lead to 3-2 as Yanic Perreauly tallied his first of the season. Rookie Dave Bolland stole the puck from Dan Hamhuis inside the Predators zone and passed to Perreault, who beat Mason with a 15-footer into the lower left corner of the net.
The Hawks came close to tying the game but Mason stopped scoring chances by Patrick Sharp and Jason Williams.
Rookie Adam Burish had a great chance to start the final period, but Mason kicked out his 20-footer.
The Predators made it 4-2 at 4:20 when Jordin Tootoo took advantage of a puck bouncing off defenseman James Wisniewski and his 35-footer glanced off Lalime's shoulder into the upper corner of the net.
Savard pulled Lalime for an extra attacker and Jason Arnott scored his 6th into an empty net at 19:13.
Nashville was 2 of 8 on the power play with Chicago 1 of 5.
Williams had a game high six shots on net and defenseman Brent Sopel blocked six shots.
Savard said his team was not consistent enough and again said his rookies can't be expected to carry the load every night.
The Hawks continue their homestand against division rivals this week with a match-up against Columbus Wednesday at 7:30 pm.
AP Notes: Nashville LW Martin Gelinas sat out his sixth game with a bruised shoulder and is day-to-day. ... LW Darcy Hordichuk missed his fifth game with a broken toe and will remain out for at least a week. ... Chicago LW Sergei Samsonov was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game.
Predators Quotes
Coach Barry Trotz: "When you go 0-and-6 in a stretch there and you’re 14 games into the season and have a six-game losing streak, to be at .500 after 14 games ... we’re pleased with that.
"I think our division is one of the stronger divisions the last few years. People have been saying, ‘It’s not a strong division’, but I just think there’s some unbelievable talent. I had the pleasure of watching the two young kids (Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews) for the Hawks a few nights and I just think they’re the top two young kids in the league right now."
Goaltender Chris Mason: "They were good. Those young kids are pretty impressive. I know Jonathan Toews a little bit from before, and Patrick Kane, they’re really impressive. They certainly look like a different team from the years past.
"It seems to me every time we score first we’ve won, and every time that we haven’t we’ve lost. It’s not going to last all year, but it’s a pretty interesting fact."
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Winning Goaltender |
Losing Goaltender |
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