Tonight was the first of three consecutive matchups between the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks, both scrapping for the fourth divisional playoff spot. The third team in the race, the Dallas Stars, is playing the Detroit Red Wings this week (and won tonight in a shootout); the Red Wings have not had a good year, making the Stars’ continuing victories likely and the Preds’ position here even more precarious.
The Predators, starting with the fourth line and the Mattias Ekholm-Ryan Ellis defense pairing again, had a strong first shift, but were then pushed back into their own end as the players changed.