Blackhawks vs Predators Preview, Projected Lines
Tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12) face off against the Nashville Predators (32-28-29). Chicago is playing their 3rd game in 4 nights; so is Nashville. The Predators are coming off a 4-1 win to Vegas yesterday and have won 3 in a row. Since they are coming in to Chicago on the 2nd game of a back-to-back, the Blackhawks need to take advantage. Having a good start to the game will be key.
The Blackhawks did not have a good start in their 4-1 loss to Colorado on Friday. That game was always going to be tough: the Avalanche are the best team in the NHL, and Chicago was playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back. Blackhawks Head Coach Jeff Blashill said it best “We didn’t have it tonight, and they did.” A better effort should be expected today. One player who did show up on Friday was Arvid Soderblom, his performance was a pleasant surprise.
However, the Predators are in the playoff chase and will likely come out aggressive. Still, this is a team the Blackhawks should be competitive against. Chicago needs to take advantage of a tired team.
Photo by: Chicago Blackhawks
The Predators have a veteran-heavy lineup led by Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, and Roman Josi. Forsberg and Stamkos are both 30-goal scorers. O’Reilly is their leading scorer with 62 points in 67 games. Consider this: Nashville was the worst team in the NHL on December 1st. There was plenty of discussion about which players were getting shipped out. Now they are genuinely pushing for the Wild Card in the West.
Despite the difficult loss on Friday, the Blackhawks have played good hockey this past week. One focus for Chicago needs to be simplifying their game; there were multiple times Friday where they missed chances by overpassing. The Blackhawks also gave up 2 Power Play goals on Friday and no longer lead the league on the PK. Special teams will need to be better today, and Chicago needs to stay disciplined.
Projected Lines:
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Teravainen
Slaggert-Donato-Mikheyev
Lardis-Lafferty
Vlasic-Levshunov
Kaiser-Rinzel
Del Mastro-Crevier
Grzelcyk
Knight
The Blackhawks are expected to still be missing forward Andrew Mangiapane and defensemen Louis Crevier, who both sustained injuries vs Minnesota. Watch out for the Blackhawks to roll 11 forwards and 7 defensemen again today.
The Blackhawks are still waiting on Sacha Boisvert’s visa, but he hopefully should be able to play this week. Meanwhile, Djurgården has been eliminated from the SHL playoffs. This means that 2025 3rd overall pick Anton Frondell will be coming to Chicago. Unlike Boisvert, there shouldn’t be any visa issues with Frondell. Theoretically Frondell could be ready to go as early as Tuesday against the New York Islanders. Either way, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. When Frondell and Boisvert eventually join the lineup, the young roster will likely get even younger. The future is right now.
