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 Kane is keeping a puck from each game as he extends his
franchise-record point streak. The puck he gathered Tuesday was
unique because it not only furthered his streak to 23 games, but it
also represented his 600th career NHL point.
"I probably wouldn't have kept tonight except it was (my) 600th
point as well," said Kane, who has 14 goals and 23 assists during
the streak. "It was something you'll keep, too."
Kane sealed the Blackhawks' victory by scoring an empty-net goal
with 1:36 remaining in the third period.
Left winger Teuvo Teravainen gave Chicago (15-9-4) some breathing
room 14 seconds into the third period when he scored from the right
circle to put the Blackhawks ahead 3-1. Teravainen had a goal and an
assist on the night.
The Predators (14-9-5) had moved in striking distance when they
trimmed the Blackhawks' lead to 2-1 with 46 seconds remaining in the
second period. Left winger Eric Nystrom provided the goal off a pass
from defenseman Roman Josi at the net.
The Predators tried plenty, but they couldn't get any more than that
one goal past Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford. He stopped
10-plus shots in each of the periods and finished with 36 saves on
37 shots.
"(Crawford) was great," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "He
was spectacular. We gave up high quality tonight. We haven't given
up that kind of quality all year. First period, (he) kept us in
there, and (he was) great in the second, some big saves in the
third. So, he was in it all alone on a lot of them, which is unusual
for us. But he was spectacular."
The Predators were frustrated with the result. Coming off a 3-2 road
win in which they dominated play against the Boston Bruins on
Monday, Nashville felt it put together another solid performance
Tuesday.
Tuesday's game marked the end of a 1-1-1 road trip for the
Predators. They are 6-6-3 on the road this season.
"We are going through a bit of a tough stretch right now," Predators
defenseman Seth Jones. "It's not due to lack of effort, I think, or
guys not giving it their all. It's just kind of the way it's going
right now. The ball keeps getting bigger and bigger right now. We
have to find a way to stop it, stop the momentum."
Chicago right winger Andrew Shaw joined Teravainen with a two-point
game. Shaw gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at
14:15 of the second period. He also had an assist.
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The Blackhawks, who went 1-for-3 on the power play, have scored a
power-play goal in eight of the past 10 games.
Chicago center Dennis Rasmussen made his NHL debut and scored on his
third shift to put Chicago ahead 1-0 at 10:45 of the first period.
Rasmussen tipped a shot from Shaw past Nashville goaltender Pekka
Rinne.
Rinne made 20 saves on 23 shots and endured a seventh loss in his
last eight games.
Predators coach Peter Laviolette didn't hold Rinne responsible for
the team's recent woes.
"He's been fine," Laviolette said. "This is a team business. There's
always things we can do better, five-on-four, four-on-five, power
play, penalty kill. There's always things we can do better as a
group. ... Everybody's responsible."
Nashville was 0-for-2 on the power play after scoring five
power-play goals in its previous two games.
NOTES: Blackhawks D Trevor Daley sat out due to an upper-body
injury. He was hurt during a collision against the Winnipeg Jets on
Sunday. D David Rundblad replaced him in the Blackhawks' lineup. ...
Blackhawks C Dennis Rasmussen made his NHL debut. He was recalled
from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Monday. ... Predators C Mike
Fisher missed his fourth consecutive game with a lower-body injury.
... Nashville LW Colin Wilson did not participate in warmups and was
scratched from the lineup. He played 18:22 against the Boston Bruins
on Monday. LW Austin Watson replaced him. ... The Blackhawks and
Predators will play again in Nashville on Thursday. They face each
other five times this season. The Blackhawks took three of their
four regular-season meetings last season.
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