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 Midway through the second period Friday night, Nashville lost its
best player with a potentially serious lower-body injury. Yet
despite the losing streak, the injury and a botched non-call which
led to Chicago's tying goal in the second period, the Predators
evened the series at a game apiece.
Center Craig Smith scored two goals, including one in a stunning
late-game flurry, as Nashville turned a one-goal game into a 6-2
rout at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.
"That's a great confidence-booster right there," said Predators
goalie Pekka Rinne. "We played really well for the second straight
game."
However, the Predators may be without All-Star defenseman Shea
Weber, who limped off the ice after a check by Blackhawk left winger
Brandon Saad, and didn't return. The team provided no update after
the game on Weber's status.
With Game 3 set for Sunday in Chicago, there will be a short
turnaround time for Weber to sufficiently heal and play.
"You never like to lose any players," Nashville coach Peter
Laviolette said, "especially the captain of your team. But I liked
the way we played. Everyone was locked into the moment."
At least for the game's final 30 minutes, Nashville didn't appear to
miss the durable Weber. It was at its best in a 2:19 stretch late in
the third period, when it went from the prospect of protecting a
one-goal lead to blowing the game open.
Center Filip Forsberg shoveled home his first goal from the
goalmouth at 12:41. Smith followed with his second of the game,
powering through two defenders, at 14:28 off Forsberg's pass to make
it 5-2.
Center Mike Santorelli capped the explosion with his first
postseason goal at 15:00, sending the audience of 17,208 out of
their seats for another celebration and also casting doubt on the
status of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford.
Pulled in Game 1 after giving up three goals on 12 first period
shots, Crawford got the start ahead of backup Scott Darling, who
backstopped Chicago to a 4-3 double overtime win after relieving
Crawford in Game 1.
But Crawford did little to justify coach Joel Quenneville's
confidence in him, giving up six goals on 35 shots. That included
center Colin Wilson's third goal in two games from a bad angle that
initiated scoring at 2:47 of the first period.
"Right now, it is pretty frustrating," Crawford said. "We did a lot
of good things in this game. There were just obviously too many
goals."
Trailing 2-1 after defenseman Roman Josi skated through most of the
Blackhawks defense before beating Crawford with a wrister at 19:56
of the first period, Chicago tied it with a controversial goal.
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Right winger Patrick Kane jumped on a loose puck and pumped a
wrister past Rinne on the glove side at 10:32, but replays showed
the Blackhawks had six men on ice during the sequence. By rule, it
should have been a penalty for too many men on the ice.
As the fans loudly booed and Laviolette yelled at the officials to
no avail, Rinne knew the score wasn't going to change.
"I saw it right away," Rinne said. "The bench was going crazy. But
when the call is made, it's made and they aren't going to change it.
We just had to regroup."
Just over four minutes later, Smith swatted a rebound from the slot
past Crawford to give the Predators a 3-2 lead they wouldn't
relinquish.
And the sudden blowout may have given Nashville a much-needed shot
of confidence.
"The win was a byproduct of our confidence," Wilson said. "We played
with it all night. We played with it on Wednesday. We just didn't
get the same outcome."
NOTES: Chicago G Scott Darling set an NHL record with 67:49 of
scoreless goaltending in a relief appearance when he got the win
Wednesday night. He is the first Blackhawks rookie goalie to win his
playoff debut since Ed Belfour did it 25 years ago. ... Nashville C
Mike Fisher, who left Wednesday night's game in the second period
with a lower-body injury, was scratched. ... Chicago D Niklas
Hjalmarsson scored his second career playoff goal in the second
period Wednesday night. His first was five years ago, also against
the Predators. ... Nashville D Cody Franson replaced D Anton
Volchenkov on a pairing with D Seth Jones for Game 2.
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