Predators must forge ahead without Weber
Nashville's chances of winning its best-of-seven first-round series against the Blackhawks took a big hit Saturday when the Predators announced that Shea Weber would not be traveling to Chicago - meaning he's out for Games 3 and 4.
The eight-time all-star and two-time Olympian suffered a lower-body injury during the second period of Nashville's 6-2 Game 2 victory Friday and did not return.
"Obviously it's a huge loss," Troy Murray told the Daily Herald. "To replace Shea Weber as far as their captain, as their leader, as their voice inside the locker room is never easy."
It will now be up to Roman Josi, Seth Jones, Ryan Ellis, Cody Franson and Mattias Ekholm - whose average age is just 23.8 years old - to collectively step it up a notch and maybe even become the new voices of the locker room.
"It seems that they're ready to emerge as the next leadership group given this opportunity," Murray said. "Just like a Scott Darling, all eyes will be on them to see whether they can accept it and handle it."
Nashville certainly didn't fold when Weber went down with Friday's game tied at 2-2. The Predators found a way to rally, scoring 4 unanswered goals to even the series at a game apiece.
"It seems like they played pretty well without him," said the Hawks' Patrick Kane. "He's obviously a big, key player for them whether it's on the power play, penalty kill, defending our top line. It's important for us not to really think about that too much. ... But I'm sure deep down they're going to miss him."
Tip-ins:
Nashville hasn't outscored an opponent in the second period in 11 straight games. During the Preds' seven-game losing streak that ended in Game 2, they were outscored 12-1 in the middle frame. ... After losing 61 percent of their faceoffs in the opener, the Hawk won 51 percent in Game 2. The biggest reason for the turnaround was Jonathan Toews, who won 15 of 23 draws Friday as opposed to 10 of 30 on Wednesday. ... Roman Josi has recorded 11 of Nashville's 55 blocked shots in the two games. Niklas Hjalmarsson (7) leads the Hawks, who have 32 as a team.
He said it:
"Tough feeling waking up this morning after the way things played out in Game 2. But we've got a veteran team with a lot of experience that - I don't want to be say be satisfied - but be happy that we went to Nashville (in) a tough building against a difficult opponent and be able to win a game. Coming back to the United Center where we feel comfortable, we have two cracks at these guys and hopefully we can play well on our home ice."
- Patrick Sharp