Predators' end Hawks' 8-game home win streak
It was with a whimper that the Blackhawks' eight-game home winning streak came to an end Friday night.
If the Hawks got caught looking ahead to tonight's game against the Stanley Cup champion Penguins in Pittsburgh, consider it a bad mistake.
By losing 4-1 to Nashville at the United Center, what could have been a 7-point first place lead over the Predators in the Central Division instead was cut to just 3.
"We know not to look ahead," Hawks winger Patrick Sharp said. "That's a huge game (against the Penguins), but it's even bigger now after this."
Defenseman Brian Campbell said the Hawks didn't have it mentally, but it had nothing to do with looking ahead to the Penguins.
"We're a team that loves to play at home," Campbell said. "It's Friday night in Chicago, you know, if you can't get up for that.
"I think we were up for it, it's just a case we weren't doing the things mentally out there you need to do to win hockey games."
The Hawks outshot the Predators 35-23, but Nashville goalie Dan Ellis had a relatively easy night. Quenneville thought his team got too cute with the puck at times and didn't do the things around the net necessary to score.
"We didn't have enough traffic and that generates the quality (shots)," Quenneville said.
The Hawks (17-7-3) had just one power play, which was a direct result of playing too much on the perimeter.
"If you're in those hard areas you generate the hooks and the holds and the restraining penalties," Quenneville said.
Even the 1 goal the Hawks did score 11:50 into the first period was the result of a great individual effort by Jonathan Toews, who turned defenseman Dan Hamhuis inside out before beating Ellis with a nice deke.
"We had a nice early goal by Jonathan there," Campbell said. "Maybe we let up and thought things were just going to roll and somebody was going to take care of it all night. We felt good, but we just didn't play smart. We need a better effort, especially against a division rival like Nashville."
The Predators (16-10-2) check as well as any team in the NHL and the Hawks didn't match the work ethic.
"They definitely wanted the puck more than we did tonight," Sharp said.
It was the Hawks' first loss at home since Oct. 21 against Vancouver.
"You have to sacrifice a lot against a team like Chicago, a team that you know is playoff bound," Predators winger Jordin Tootoo said.
"Chicago has a lot of talented players and you have to elevate your play to match them," Ellis said.
Tim Sassone's game tracker
Three stars
1. Dan Ellis, Predators: Made 34 saves in goal, 14 in the first period.
2. Martin Erat, Predators: Got credit for the game-winning goal and added an assist.
3. Shea Weber, Predators: Big effort on defense with 5 hits and 2 blocked shots in 23 minutes.
Key stat
Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith was minus-2 and didn't have his best night.