Preview: Blackhawks at Predators

[December 29, 2016]  The Chicago Blackhawks may be seeing their tenuous grip on the Central Division lead slipping away, but they made sure to keep reigning Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin under wraps on Wednesday. With the sides agreeing to a two-year, $12 million contract, Panarin looks to continue his torrid stretch on Thursday as the visiting Blackhawks attempt to snap a season-high three-game skid against the Nashville Predators.

Panarin has collected 14 (five goals, nine assists) of his team-leading 37 points on his career-high eight-game point streak. The 25-year-old set up returning Artem Anisimov's 15th goal in Tuesday's 3-1 setback to Winnipeg, but was held off the scoresheet in a home-and-home set with the Predators in October. While Chicago is nursing a one-point lead over surging Minnesota, Nashville has dropped two in a row for the fourth separate time this month. Pekka Rinne has yielded at least three goals in nine of his last 10 outings, but turned aside 22 shots in a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Oct. 14.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NHL.TV, CSN Chicago, FSN Tennessee (Nashville)

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (22-10-5): Corey Crawford will vie for his first win while making his third start since returning from emergency appendectomy surgery earlier this month. Crawford has stopped 63 of 68 shots to suffer hard-luck losses against Colorado and Winnipeg that bridged the Christmas break, but owns a 12-9-1 mark with two shutouts in his career versus Nashville. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane, who has collected two goals and five assists in his last six games, set up a pair of tallies in a 5-3 victory over Nashville on Oct. 15.

 ABOUT THE PREDATORS (15-13-6): After mustering just two goals in November, forward Filip Forsberg netted his fourth in seven games in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota. The 22-year-old Swede has recorded 14 of his 20 points at home and resides just four shy of Ryan Johansen for the team lead. Speaking of Johansen, he notched an assist versus the Wild and set up three tallies in the first two meetings with Chicago.

OVERTIME

1. Sidelined for five games, Nashville D P.K. Subban will miss at least two more due to an upper-body injury, team announced on Wednesday.

2. Chicago has surrendered the first goal in seven of its last nine contests.

3. The Predators are 4-for-8 on the power play versus the Blackhawks this season.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Predators 2

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