|
 Nashville coach Peter Laviolette expects a big performance from his
team, similar to its 6-2 victory in Game 2 after blowing a
three-goal lead and losing in double overtime in the series opener.
"Our guys are a resilient group," Laviolette said. "They will not
cave. They will not go away quietly. They'll be ready to play Game
5, I promise you." Predators captain Shea Weber missed the last two
games and Laviolette is uncertain if he will be available Thursday.
That will make the task even more daunting against a Chicago team
that is 12-3 in close-out games under coach Joel Quenneville.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, RSN, CSN Chicago, FSN Tennessee
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Seabrook continued his penchant for delivering
a huge goal, registering the ninth overtime tally of his career and
third in the postseason - the first two of which came in Chicago's
run to the 2012-13 Stanley Cup. “Anytime you can contribute and help
the team, it’s huge, it’s fun, it’s exciting,” Seabrook said. “I
score eight or nine goals a year and a couple in the playoffs, but
even a 50-goal scorer would be just as excited to score a big
overtime goal." Scott Darling, who has supplanted Corey Crawford in
net, made 50 saves Tuesday to improve to 3-0 with a spectacular 1.05
goals-against average and .969 save percentage in the postseason.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Nashville victimized Crawford for nine of its
13 goals in the series, but it's been another story against Darling,
who has turned aside 127 of the 131 shots he's faced. Colin Wilson
scored his fourth goal of the series in Game 4 after closing the
season with a 15-game drought, but leading scorer Filip Forsberg has
been blanked in three of the four games and 23-goal scorer James
Neal ("We've got lots of fight left in us") earned his first point
of the postseason with a tally in Tuesday's loss. Center Mike
Fisher, a 19-goal scorer during the regular season, has been
sidelined Game 1 with a lower-body injury and, like Weber, remains
day-to-day.
[to top of second column] |
OVERTIME
1. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is among three finalists for
the Selke Trophy, given annually to the league's top defensive
forward.
2. The Predators have been solid on the penalty kill in the past
three games, snuffing out all nine chances by Chicago.
3. Seabrook is tied with Jeremy Roenick for second on the franchise
list in playoff OT goals, one behind teammate Patrick Kane (four).
PREDICTION: Predators 4, Blackhawks 2
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
