Fans provide big boost to Predators
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville is hardly a hockey hotbed. The Predators ranked 26th in NHL attendance and prime lower-level seats sat empty Tuesday night for their first home playoff game in two years.
Those towel-waving Predators fans among the 16,075 who did show up to Bridgestone Arena made plenty of noise and watched their team dismantle the Blackhawks 4-1 in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
The Predators set the tone with big hits against Patrick Kane and Colin Fraser in the opening six minutes and took control with 2 second-period goals to grab a 2-1 series edge.
"That first period there was a lot of energy in the building and our crowd was absolutely outstanding," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "Every stoppage of play you could barely hear on the bench. They were just fantastic for us."
The Blackhawks have no shortage of confidence playing away from the United Center, but that wasn't evident Tuesday. They set a franchise record for road victories (23) this season and trailed only San Jose, Los Angeles and Washington (24 each).
The Hawks appeared road-tested early as they managed to kill 3 penalties in the first period and then tied the score at 1-1 on a power-play goal by Tomas Kopecky at 17:35.
However, Nashville scored four minutes into the second period with David Legwand capitalizing on a 2-on-1 break to put the Predators ahead for good.
"We knew they were going to be better and play with more effort in their own building, and we didn't respect that enough," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said.
Predators defenseman Shea Weber, who leveled Kane in the opening minutes, ripped a slap shot between the pads of Antti Niemi for a 3-1 advantage midway through the second period. Hawks' scoring chances were scarce the rest of the way.
"I thought we really lost all the momentum in that second period," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The building was alive and had some personality. We needed to get better off the first period, and we weren't there.
Last year the Hawks were a clutch road team in the playoffs, winning twice at Vancouver in advancing to the Western Conference finals. They also closed out the quarterfinals in Game 6 at Calgary.
Now the Hawks are a desperate No. 2 seed, trying to get back into the series against a Nashville team that has never won a playoff series.
"There's no more time to wait," Toews said. "Overall we've got to be patient against this team, but we've got to try to take control, play desperate hockey and really fight for everything we get."