|
 "We've come out with the mindset of being relentless and a tough
hockey team," left winger James Neal said. "There's a lot of new
faces here and a new coaching staff. The biggest thing for us is we
haven't played our best games yet. We're only going to get better."
Neal's hat trick lifted Nashville to a 3-2 win over the Chicago
Blackhawks at sold-out Bridgestone Arena, giving the Predators
points in each of their first seven games.
Picked up from the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 27 for right winger
Patric Hornqvist and center Nick Spaling, Neal is giving the
Predators (5-0-2) the proven goal-scorer they needed. His quick
hands were the difference against Chicago (4-1-1).
After tying the game 1-1 at 19:12 of the first period with a wrist
shot that beat goalkeeper Antti Raanta on the stick side, Neal put
Nashville ahead for good late in the second period. He gave the
Predators a 2-1 lead shortly after Chicago owned possession for the
entirety of a power play without capitalizing on it.
 Taking a pass from center Filip Forsberg, Neal ripped a one-timer
over Raanta's left shoulder at 16:12.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Neal's second goal capped a
key sequence.
"We did a lot of good things on that power play without scoring,"
Quenneville said, "and then he just scored a big goal."
Capping the fifth hat trick of his career, Neal pushed the rebound
of defenseman Ryan Ellis' shot into the net at 1:52 of the third
period, inspiring some in the crowd of 17,157 to fling chapeaus on
the ice.
"Any time he shoots the puck, it has a chance of going in,"
Predators first-year coach Peter Laviolette said of Neal, "He had a
great game, and his goals were at the right time, too."
Center Andrew Shaw drew the Blackhawks within a goal by tapping in
the rebound of his shot at 12:36 of the third, but Nashville goalie
Pekka Rinne made the lead stand up by making five saves in the last
six minutes, including denying Shaw of a tip-in at the goalmouth
with 1:19 remaining.
Rinne (5-0-1) notched 16 of his 30 saves in the third period.
"Great team win for us," Rinne said. "You want to prove yourself as
a player and a team, and so far, we're on the right track. But we're
not going to get too happy. We're going to come back and focus on
our job."
[to top of second column] |
Chicago handed Nashville a 2-1 overtime loss Saturday night at the
United Center and took a 1-0 lead in this one on a rebound goal by
right winger Ben Smith at 12:21 of the first period. However, the
Predators controlled play for long stretches, outshooting the
Blackhawks 14-6 in the first period and appearing quicker to the
puck.
It was a marked difference from Saturday night, when Nashville
managed just six shots on goal through two periods and was outshot
37-20 for the game.
Chicago held the shot advantage again Thursday, but it was just
32-27.
"We wanted to do more damage in that game, and the guys felt they
had missed a chance," Laviolette said of the Predators' Saturday
loss, which occurred 24 hours after a 2-0 win in Winnipeg. "We were
on more even ground tonight."
Raanta (1-1-0) recorded 24 saves on 27 shots. He notched 32 saves
Tuesday night in a 4-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Flyers.
NOTES: Chicago GK Corey Crawford (upper-body injury) didn't travel
with the team after missing the Blackhawks' 4-0 win over
Philadelphia on Tuesday. Crawford also will miss Saturday night's
game in St. Louis. ... The Blackhawks' backup goalie for the time
being is former Nashville prospect Scott Darling, who recorded six
shutouts in 26 starts last season for the Predators' AHL affiliate
in Milwaukee. ... Nashville LW Gabriel Bourque, who didn't score a
point in the first six games and posted a minus-3 rating, was a
healthy scratch. ... The Predators dressed LW Taylor Beck for just
the third time in seven games and put him on the third line,
dropping former Chicago LW Viktor Stalberg to the fourth line.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
