NHL Update: Chicago Blackhawks defeat Nashville Predators, 6-3
Troy Brouwer lit the lamp twice with the game-tying and the go-ahead goal to lift Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-3 victory over Nashville Predators on Sunday night.
“In the third period, we started moving our feet and did the things we needed to win,” Brouwer said
Dave Bolland also tallied twice for Chicago, who avenged the 3-2 shootout defeat in the home-and-home set opener and has now won four of its last five games. Bryan Bickell added a goal and
had an assist while Jonathan Toews also scored a goal in the victory. Marty Turco turned aside 20 shots for the winners.
J.P. Dumont recorded two goals and Martin Erat netted a goal for Nashville, which has lost two of the previous three games but has won seven of its previous nine games. Anders Lindback was
dented for all six goals on 34 shots in the losing cause.
Chicago dug itself in an early hole after Toews was called for a holding penalty only 16 seconds into the game. With time running out of the power-play, Cody Franson fired a shot on the
net but it was saved. Erat got the rebound from the left side of the crease and banged a wrist shot into the net for a 1-0 lead and to end a streak of eight goalless advantages.
After 4 ½ minutes, Chicago knotted the game at 1-1. It started when Bickell controlled
a loose puck near the left boards in the Nashville zone and slipped it toward the net, but it was stopped by Lindback. Bolland snatched the rebound and tipped it in to square the game away.
Predators found the back of the net on yet another power-play with six minutes left in the first period. This time it was Duncan Keith holding call that provided Nashville a man-advantage.
The goal came when Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell stopped Shea Weber’s shot from the left point and the puck trickled to Dumont who slashed it home to re-gain the advantage, 2-1.
Bolland tied it again at two apiece, 12 minutes into the middle period. It happened so when Tomas Kopecky intercepted a pass in his own defensive zone and punched it up to Bolland. He then
used some suave stick work to weave around a defender Ryan Suter and slapped the puck between the pads of Nashville goalie.
“When I went around Suter, I was sort of dumbfounded,” Bolland said.
Predators went ahead again with 3-2 lead four minutes into the third period. The goal came off a Blackhawks zone face-off win by Chris Mueller. After the quick draw, Dumont skated inside
the left circle and ripped the bouncing puck past a stunned Chicago netminder.
However, Predators were not able to find the back of the net during the rest of the play. Brouwer's two-goal rally downed Nashville.
"When they scored that goal in the third we knew that wasn't going to be enough to stop us," Toews said. "We wanted to repay them for coming back against us yesterday."
Brouwer's first power-play goal equalized the game for the third time halfway through the final period. From the top of the slot, Keith rifled a shot that was initially saved by Lindback's
left pad, but the rebound was cleaned up by an off- balanced Brouwer, who tipped the disc home.
After a short time, Brouwer put Chicago ahead with 4-3 lead. He powered out of the right corner, circled around to the high slot where he slashed in a high wrist shot with Toews screening
Predators goalie Lindback.
“We stopped playing our game and they came at us pretty hard,” Dumont said. “We took a penalty and they got the momentum back. It’s just the kind of game that we let them take it away in
the third.”
Two insurance goals then came for Blackhawks with 6 ½ minutes remaining to preserve the victory.
Bickell registered Chicago’s fifth goal to make it 5-3 game. At the top of the crease, he took a centring pass from Campbell and knocked the puck home with a quick flick of the wrists.
Toews' unassisted 100th career goal doubled up the advantage and accounted for the final scoring 6-3.
"We stopped playing our game. They came at us pretty hard," Dumont said. "We have to make sure we learn from it."
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