Neal and Rinne shine in Blackhawks' First Regulation Loss

photo from ontheforecheck.com

The first twenty minutes of last night's game looked set to play out almost exactly like the last time Chicago played Nashville (a 2-1 OT win). It was a fast paced game at both ends, however, in a rare lapse for the Blackhawks, they came into the second period being outshot 14-6. They eventually evened the shots up near the end of the game (outshooting the Predators 17-6 in the third), but it seemed too little too late, as they couldn't score a third goal and force overtime.


This inability to score caused a shortened bench for Chicago (Daniel Carcillo played only forty seven seconds in the third period, six and a half minutes overall) and some unsurprising line shuffling from Joel Quenneville that, although creating some good chances (for Kris Versteeg and Ben Smith especially), ultimately fell short.

Smith had an excellent game, scoring his first of the season and he and Marcus Kruger show they're two of the top penalty killers for Chicago as Nashville go 0-for-2 in the power play. The removal of Carcillo from that fourth line seemed to work wonders, Smith and Kruger gaining their first points as soon as Carcillo was benched. I wonder if this is going to be the norm for the fourth line, and if so, whether Jeremy Morin is going to get a chance to win that fourth line left wing spot back (Morin-Kruger-Smith was the best line in Chicago's training camp by a long way, and I'd be excited to see that trio back together).

On the other side of the ice, James Neal is looking ever more comfortable in Predators yellow, scoring his fifth career hat trick, and his first with Nashville, scoring once in each period to set up a comfortable 3-1 lead that the Blackhawks just couldn't overcome. The top line of Filip Forsberg, James Neal and Mike Ribeiro combined for six points last night, and six different Predators got at least one point, even though Neal was the only Nashville player with a goal.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne also had a good game, stopping point blank chances from several members of Chicago to make thirty two of thirty four saves. Last year, Nashville struggled, and people put it down as a teamwide issue, saying that Trotz' coaching system was too ultra defensive and that they couldn't score (this is what resulted in the Neal trade), however, part of this struggle was undoubtedly the fact that Rinne only played twenty four of eighty two games, due to an infected hip. A healthy Pekka Rinne is almost like a secret weapon for Nashville; one of the most underrated goaltenders in the NHL, and unless an injury puts him out for a significant period of time, the Predators look like a legitimately dangerous team in an already offensively charged Central Division.

My Three Stars of the Game

3. Ben Smith. Smith is a workhorse at his very worst, a fourth line puck possession player. At his very best, he's shown he can be a second line center, and an outstanding penalty killer. Last season, on a line with Brandon Bollig and Kruger, they allowed Quennville to roll four lines for the majority of games. This season, he's been hampered by linemate Daniel Carcillo in terms of points, but he's still be shining on the penalty kill and playing well defensively.

2. Pekka Rinne. Rinne stole this game from the Blackhawks in the third period alone, stopping sixteen of seventeen shots after an unchallenging start, and the two goals that Chicago did score, he couldn't be faulted on. He played especially well in the last ten minutes of the game, after Andrew Shaw's late goal, and was outstanding during the last ninety seconds or so with the 5-on-6 from Chicago's empty net.

1. James Neal. Neal was an offensive weapon in Pittsburgh, centred by Evgeni Malkin, and he's carried that pure goalscoring talent to Nashville, where he's scored five goals in four games, sitting on the top line's left wing, where I suspect he'll stay all season. He's the jumpstart that Nashville needed to make the switch from ultra-defensive to offensively minded team, and this Nashville team is looking a lot like the LA Kings immediately following the Jeff Carter trade, which can only be a good thing for the Predators.

Next game: Saturday 25th, vs. Blues