|
 Not surprisingly, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville plans on sticking
with rookie netminder Scott Darling, who stopped all 42 shots he
faced in relief in Game 1 before make 35 saves on Sunday. “He played
so well. Very deserving," Quenneville said. "I think it was an easy
choice.” The Predators continue to have issues in the second period,
giving up three goals in the series opener to blow a 3-0 lead and
allowing three more tallies in Game 3, but they remain upbeat
despite the fact that captain Shea Weber will his out his second
straight contest. "We'll be fine," forward James Neal said Monday.
"We'll come out with a big effort tomorrow and have a big game."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE PREDATORS: With stud defenseman Weber sidelined due to an
injury to his lower right leg, Nashville's top blue-line pairing of
Roman Josi and Seth Jones each finished with a minus-3 and was
unable to contain Chicago's No. 1 line of captain Jonathan Toews,
Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad, which accounted for five points
Sunday. "You're facing the best defenseman in the league, and all of
a sudden when he's not there, you have to take advantage of it,"
Hossa said. "I think that's what we did." Goaltender Pekka Rinne's
late-season struggles have continued, allowing 24 goals over his
last seven starts and four tallies in four of them.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Hossa finished third on the team in scoring
with 61 points during the regular season and has thrived in the
series, collecting a pair of assists in both Games 1 and 3 while
registering a team-high six shots on goal Sunday. "He makes it seem
a lot easier than it really is," Toews said of the 36-year-old
Hossa. "To think of where you’ll be at if you have the chance to
play as long as he has, how that might feel, I kind of cringe
thinking about it. It is pretty impressive.” Andrew Desjardins,
acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline, saw his first playoff
action and notched his first tally since joining Chicago.
[to top of second column] |
OVERTIME
1. Toews had 23 multi-point playoff games, trailing only
Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (30) and Evgeni Malkin (28) and teammate
Patrick Kane (26) since 2009.
2. Nashville has been outscored 18-4 in the second period of the
past 10 games.
3. Darling has turned aside 109 of 112 shots in three appearances
against the Predators.
PREDICTION: Blackhawks 4, Predators 3
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