advertisement

Kane extends streak to 24 games, but Hawks thumped by Preds 5-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - James Neal, Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg each scored in the first period and the Nashville Predators beat the Blackhawks 5-1 even though Patrick Kane extended his franchise-record points streak to 24 games.

Kane scored his 18th goal this season at 5:43 of the third. He'll have a chance Friday night against Winnipeg back in Chicago to match Sidney Crosby's 25-game streak, set in 2010-11, for the longest since 1992-93.

The Predators lost their challenge for goaltender interference on Kane's tally.

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne thought he had covered the puck with his glove when Chicago center Marcus Kruger came in, knocking it away. Kane had the easy tap-in from the side.

Rinne even skated out near the blue line trying to argue his case with the officials.

Neal sealed the victory with his second goal unassisted at 14:55, and Eric Nystrom scored a short-handed empty netter with 1:14 left.

Rinne made 35 saves to improve to 12-7-5. The Predators evened the season series at 1-1.

Kruger and Duncan Keith had the assists on Kane's goal.

These teams met for the second time in three nights after the Blackhawks won 4-1 Tuesday night with Kane extending his streak with an empty netter. The Predators looked as if they had been stewing over that loss since leaving the United Center, and they opened with possibly their best period this season in grabbing a 3-0 lead.

They took the first 10 shots before Dennis Rasmussen finally had a wraparound chance on Rinne at 5:42 of the first. Neal scored on Nashville's 11th shot with a snap shot past Scott Darling after dodging Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson at 6:54 for his 11th this season.

They then scored twice in 37 seconds with Smith beating Darling on a backhander from Viktor Arvidsson that trickled over the line with 4:04 left. Kruger then hooked Cody Hodgson, giving Nashville the man advantage, and Forsberg scored his sixth on a power-play wrister with 3:27 remaining.

The Predators even killed three penalties, a category in which they rank 28th in the NHL.

Chicago had several chances in the second, outshooting the Predators 13-8 in the period. Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm fell trying to corral the puck behind the net, and Rinne made the save. Rinne also stopped Andrew Shaw right in front at 5:48.

Rinne stopped three shots by Kane through the first 40 minutes. Rinne also came up with a big stop on a one-timer by Artemi Panarin from the slot off a pass by Kane 90 seconds into the third.

Notes: Kane now has 15 goals and 23 assists in his points streak. ... Nashville has scored six power-play goals over the past four games. ... Neal has seven goals in his past five games against Chicago, and Mike Ribeiro has an assist in seven of his last nine against the Blackhawks. ... Nashville defenseman Roman Josi had an assist, extending his points streak to a career-high six games. ... Nashville improved to 12-1-2 when both allowing two or fewer goals and when scoring three or more.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.