Blackhawks facing pesky Nashville Predators
Despite going 16-4-1 over their last 21 games, there is one thing the Blackhawks haven't been able to shake - the Nashville Predators.
That's because as red-hot as the Hawks have been since early November, the Predators have played just as well, going 15-4-2 in their last 21 games.
So instead of enjoying a big first-place cushion in the Central Division, every time the Hawks have had a chance to catch their breath and look over their shoulder, there are the pesky Predators.
"We went on that big streak in November and every time we checked the standings they were right with us," Hawks center Patrick Sharp said. "We didn't really gain much on them. They're a strong team in our division."
The Hawks own a 4-point lead over Nashville heading into this weekend's key home-and-home series that starts Saturday at the Sommet Center and continues Sunday the United Center.
"These are two big games against a hot team that looks like it's going to be hanging around a long time," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We should be excited about playing them and I'm sure they'll be excited as well."
This is a perfect opportunity for the Hawks to pull away from the pack and move closer to their No. 1 goal for the regular season, which is to win the division and secure at least one of the top three seeds in the Western Conference for the playoffs.
"Going into the season we knew how competitive the West was and how strong our division was going to be, and that if we could ever win our division that would be a great objective and a tough goal accomplished," Quenneville said. "So that's basically what we're looking at, to try to stay ahead of everybody. It looks like it's going to stay quite competitive right to the end."
The Hawks are coming off a great pre-Christmas stretch that saw them take three of four games, including a win over Boston and back-to-back shutouts of Detroit.
"I think you can tip your hat to our team game defensively," Sharp said. "We're holding teams to a lot of first chances only and not a lot of second chances."
The Predators looked headed for a long season when they started slowly offensively, shut out in four of their first 14 games.
But the offense has come on strong and the defense has been improved thanks to goalie Pekka Rinne (14-6-2) and defenseman Shea Weber.
The Hawks beat the Predators twice in October, 3-1 and 2-0, but Nashville has won the last two meetings, including a 4-1 victory at the UC on Dec. 4.
"We had two good games earlier on, but that was when they had a slow start to their season," Quenneville said. "They've really taken off and been a top team in the league over a long stretch of games here. We have to be respectful of the way they work and how tight they play."
There might not be another team in the league that checks the Hawks as tightly as Nashville does. The Hawks have scored just 2 goals in the last two games against the Predators.
In the four games this season with Nashville, the Hawks are 1-for-11 on the power play even though the Predators rank 28th in the league in penalty killing.
<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Nashville Predators at the Sommet Center, 7 p.m.</b></p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Radio:</b> WGN 720-AM</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>What to watch:</b> It's a key Central Division game between two of the hottest teams in the NHL. In their last 21 games the Hawks are 16-4-1 and the Predators 15-4-2. Nashville, 4 points behind the Hawks in the standings, will be without forwards Jordin Tootoo (broken foot) and Jerred Smithson (broken hand).</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Season series:</b> Tied 2-2.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Next:</b> Nashville Predators at the United Center, 6 p.m. Sunday.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col"><i>- Tim Sassone</i></p>