Predators Beat Blackhawks 5-1

He has 16 goals and 23 assists in the streak and leads the National Hockey League in scoring with 45 points.

When it comes the most impressive streak of his hockey career, Patrick Kane has caused a few hearts of Blackhawks’ fans to beat a bit faster.

I’m not entirely sure what head coach Peter Laviolette said to his squad prior to their game against the Blackhawks on Thursday night, but Nashville came out of the gates hotter than they have in any of the great starts experienced over the previous 11 games and found a way to actually start burying some chances. The goal was Kane’s 17 for the season, but more importantly, the Blackhawks defeated the Predators 4-1 behind the excellence of goalie Corey Crawford in net. “I think that once it gets up there, I think everyone’s aware of it. So you’re trying to find a way to keep that streak going, but when you’re playing that well, I think you’re just confident in your game”.

Flawless penalty kill: Nashville killed all three of Chicago’s power plays Thursday, a huge morale victory for the Predators, whose penalty kill has been putrid recently.

Kruger and Duncan Keith had the assists on Kane’s goal. “When you’re with these great players that have had these great streaks, it definitely humbles you. My goodness, it’s exceptional what he has done so far, and the sky is the limit for him”. The Hawks got punched in the mouth for 20 straight minutes, and although they played much better in the second period, they were already looking at a 3-0 deficit.

“They blitzed us right off the bat, and we didn’t have a response to it”, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.

Right winger Craig Smith’s backhander plunked off Darling and trickled over the goal line at 15:56. Less than 40 seconds later, it was Filip Forsberg converting on a power-play opportunity for a 3-0 Nashville lead headed into the first intermission. The Swedish center re-directed an Andrew Shaw blast from the slot past Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne.

Rinne stopped three shots by Kane through the first 40 minutes.

Kane has certainly benefited from added chemistry with his new line mates Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin and a willingness from his teammates to pass him the puck.

“I’m really happy with how we stuck with it at the end there and we had to defend, and defend really well”, Rinne said. Winnipeg posted its third win in four games Thursday, a 6-4 home triumph over Columbus in which it never trailed. Neal has seven goals in his past five games against Chicago, and Mike Ribeiro has an assist in seven of his last nine against the Blackhawks.