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 Quenneville must have been psychic, as the game lasted more than
four hours -- ending after 1 a.m. CDT -- and went into a third
overtime before defenseman Brent Seabrook scored the winning goal
one minute in to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 victory.
"I don't think I've ever played a game that went this late, ever,"
said Quenneville, whose team took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven
series.
"It was a great play all the way around," Quenneville said of
Seabrook's goal. "It was scripted great, it was a great shot, and it
goes in."
Seabrook, who turned 30 on Monday, was almost embarrassed by his
tally.
"I don't know if the guys were more excited I scored or that the
game was over," he said with a laugh. "I scored my last goal of my
20s on Sunday and my first goal of my 30s tonight. That's pretty
cool."
Even with Seabrook's heroics, the real hero of the game was Chicago
backup goalie Scott Darling, who stopped 50 of 52 in 101 minutes of
ice time.
"I'm thrilled we won, it was an unbelievable game, but I'm a little
tired," quipped Darling, who grew up in Chicago's southwest suburbs.
"Overtime games are crazy. Every shot is do or die."
Quenneville lauded the outstanding play of Darling, who was in net
for all three of Chicago's wins in the series.
"He's been great," Quenneville said. "He's had consistency and
composure. Now it's on to the next challenge. He's quite a good
story."
Chicago could move on to the second round with a win Thursday in
Game 5 at Nashville.
"This series has been close, and both teams have played hard,"
Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We just can't seem to get
that bounce."
Laviolette also was philosophical about the outcome, noting that his
team still has time to turn things around.
"Eventually, the sun will come up tomorrow," he said. "Our guys are
resilient and won't cave or go away quietly."
Added Quenneville, "(Nashville) played hard, and I expect them to
play the same way the next game."
Quenneville would not say whether he would start Darling at
Nashville or bring back No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, who struggled
in Game 1 before he was replaced by Darling (went on to win that
game). Crawford was back in the crease for Chicago's 6-2 loss in
Game 2.
Even though he played a heck of a game, stopping 45 of 48 shots,
Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne couldn't stop Seabrook's game-winner.
Center Antoine Vermette and left winger Brandon Saad scored in
regulation for the Blackhawks, while center Colin Wilson and left
winger James Neal scored for the Predators.
Both teams had chances to win in the second overtime, but neither
was able to capitalize.
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Chicago had two power-play opportunities that went for naught, while
Nashville failed to connect when it had a man-advantage, as well.
The Predators outshot the Blackhawks 7-6 in the second overtime.
Both teams appeared to ratchet up the defensive aggressiveness in
the first overtime period.
It got to the point where the game resembled a basketball game of
sorts: Go down to one end of the ice, take a shot, miss, then go
back down the other way and miss there, too.
Nashville outshot Chicago 13-10 in the scoreless first extra period,
with both goalies still looking strong.
After failing to score even one third-period goal in the first three
games of the series, Chicago finally snapped that jinx at 11:03 of
the third period.
Saad scored his second goal of the playoffs, with assists from right
winger Marian Hossa and defenseman Duncan Keith, to tie the game at
2.
At 11:38 of the first period, with Chicago left winger Bryan Bickell
in the penalty box for hooking, Wilson took advantage of the extra
man, scoring his team-leading fourth goal of the playoffs on a slap
shot past Darling.
The United Center grew uncharacteristically quiet for the next
minute or so, then erupted when Vermette, playing in just his second
game of the series, tied the game at 1 when he tipped defenseman
Michal Rozsival's shot past Rinne at 13:05.
After both teams played evenly matched hockey for the next 25
minutes, Nashville went ahead 2-1 on Neal's first goal of the
playoffs.
Given how long Tuesday's game went, when Quenneville was asked if he
planned to cancel a Wednesday morning skate, he quipped, "Lucky
guess."
NOTES: Nashville team captain, D Shea Weber, did not make the trip,
still nursing a lower-body injury. ... Nashville C Mike Fisher
participated in the morning skate, but he did not play. Fisher still
isn't fully recovered from a lower-back injury he sustained in Game
1. ... Nashville's other scratches were D Anton Volchenkov, LW Eric
Nystrom and LW Taylor Beck. ... Chicago's scratches were D David
Rundblad, LW Daniel Carcillo, D Kyle Cumiskey, C Joakim Nordstrom, D
Michael Paliotta, LW Teuvo Teravainen and G Antti Raanta. ... The
attendance was 22,014.
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