Pekka Rinne's solid goaltending shuts down Chicago Blackhawks as Nashville Predators win 6-1 –NHL
A mix of solid goaltending from Pekka Rinne’s side along with some exceptional shooting by the Nashville players snapped the Chicago five-game winning streak as Predators took the two points with a, 6-1, win on Sunday night, March 25, 2012, at the sold-out
United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Predators won their second consecutive matchup following a 3-1 win over Winnipeg Jets as they continue to move up in the Western Conference, now at number four with 96 points.
"We played a solid, solid game," said Predators’ goalie, Pekka Rinne. "The last two games we got back to playing our game and those two games before that, against (Edmonton) and Pittsburgh, those games we got away (from it) a little bit. Our foundation is
still a hard-working game. We can't get away from that."
Matt Halischuk was given the chance to score on a wrap around from behind the Chicago net on an assist from Brandon Yip. Andrei Kostitsyn added the second straight on the breakaway to extend the lead to 2-0 with less than five minutes remaining on round-one.
Patric Hornqvist potted the 25th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season as Alexander Radulov’s shot the puck which hit Hornqvist’s stick and into the Chicago net, giving him the credit on a power play opportunity.
"I liked our response to anything that happened in the game. We got good efforts from everybody, from the goal out, we really did," Nashville, Barry Trotz, said. "The overall playoff picture probably doesn't really matter to me right now.”
Francis Bouillon picked up his second of the year followed by another from Viktor Stalberg at 5:58. Shea Weber and Mike Fisher add two more straight to take the match way out of Chicago’s hands.
Nashville Predators have the next against Central Divisions leaders and rivals, St. Louis Blues, on Tuesday.
Chicago on the other hand, will play on the road in their next matchup against New Jersey Devils on the same day.
Seeing them in their next matchup as both teams are fighting for their playoff positioning as the regular season comes down to last few matchups will surely be exciting.
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