Stalock steadies 'underdog' Blackhawks to another win, 2-1 over Nashville
Alex Stalock made 35 saves - losing his shutout with only 23.6 seconds remaining - and the visiting Blackhawks defeated Nashville 2-1 on Thursday.
Lukas Reichel notched his third goal of the season at 19:13 of the first period to get the Hawks on the board, and Joey Anderson made it 2-0 at 8:01 of the third period when he easily put home a shot off a pass from Boris Katchouk.
Reichel scored when his pass attempt to Andreas Athanasiou deflected off a Nashville player and slid over the goal line as the net came off the moorings.
Stalock's final save came on a backhand attempt by Matt Duchene with 9.7 seconds remaining.
The Hawks are 3-2-1 in their last six games and 16-13-2 in their last 30.
"It's a group that's having fun," Stalock told ESPN. "We've got guys that are energized, we've got young guys that want to come and play in the NHL and they're excited to be here.
"Obviously we're not where we want to be in the standings, but at the same time why not come out and win games? That's our goal."
Nashville, 8-2-1 in its previous 11 games before Thursday, is fighting for a wild-card spot but was unable to get what many figured would be an easy victory.
"Maybe some of those other teams are playing a little tighter, knowing they need points for their playoff race," Connor Murphy said after practice Monday. "We're the underdog ... and that can sometimes play in your favor of not being afraid to make mistakes (as well as) trying to prove yourself and show you want to take advantage of the opportunity."
One of the Predators' best chances to score came with 6:20 remaining in the second period when they were awarded a penalty shot after Stalock threw his stick at a puck. Duchene raced toward Stalock, but lost control of the puck and the Hawks maintained their 1-0 lead.
Katchouk continued his strong play of late, taking 11 shot attempts (3 on goal). New defenseman Nikita Zaitsev had 6 hits, and fellow D-man Jarred Tinordi blocked 4 shots.
The Hawks continue their five-game road trip at Arizona on Saturday.