Nashville joins crowd fighting to be best in the West

For anyone who thought the race for first place in the Western Conference couldn’t get any tighter, the Nashville Predators have news for you.

With their 3-1 win over the Islanders on Monday, the Predators improved to 56 points — just 4 behind the Blackhawks. It was Nashville’s fifth straight win.

The Hawks woke up Monday morning back in first place in the West, but there is only a 5-point difference between the top six teams in the conference.

The Hawks have two games with the Predators before the all-star break: Saturday in Nashville and next Tuesday at the United Center.

“We need to just focus on one game at a time, and the task at hand, and not worry too much about (the standings), because if you’re watching the standings all the time it’s one of those things that might get in your head a little bit,” Jonathan Toews said.

“I think we’ve done a good job of just focusing on the things we need to improve on, especially when we maybe have a two or three-game skid, or something like that where we’re not playing our best.”

The Hawks have won three of their last four games and have captured 8 out of a possible 10 points in the last five games coming out of a three-game losing streak.

“We finished off a good week, and we’ve got to keep at it, and keep playing the way we have,” Toews said.

Stalberg honored:Hawks winger Viktor Stalberg was named the NHL#146;s second star of the week Monday for scoring 5 goals in four games last week with an assist.Stalberg had his first career hat trick in the Hawks#146; 5-2 win over Columbus last Tuesday.#147;I thought he has come along throughout the beginning of the year,#148; coach Joel Quenneville said. #147;I thought his game, the little things that complement his speed and his shot, his skills, the general hockey instincts, that he seems to be progressing. Things are more reactionary than hesitant. With that speed, it#146;s a great asset.#148;