The Nashville Predators were written off just a few weeks ago, and now they are sitting in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. They increased their lead to three points with a 3-2 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
The Blackhawks played well and deserved a better outcome, but the Predators took advantage of their chances, tying the game in the third before winning it in overtime. Their veteran leaders, like Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos, would not be denied as this team inches closer to an improbable playoff berth.
After today’s loss, the Blackhawks are 7-13 in games that have gone beyond regulation. Success in overtime and shootouts is the difference between fighting for a playoff spot and getting excited for rookies getting their feet wet before next season.
“It’s frustrating in a sense that we haven’t been better at it,” head coach Jeff Blashill said about overtime. “Not that it’s the format or anything. I get it. I’m a fan of three-on-three. But it sucks for us that we haven’t been better at it.”
Blackhawks Start on Time
The first periods of the last three home games have not been kind to the Blackhawks. Against the Utah Mammoth, Minnesota Wild, and Colorado Avalanche, at 5-on-5, the Blackhawks were soundly beaten in every important stat during the opening frame. They had a major disadvantage in shot attempts (32-71), shots on goal (18-37), scoring chances (12-42), high-danger chances (5-24), and goals (2-5). If you throw in the road game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the numbers are even worse.
“You always want to start really good,” Blashill said before today’s game. “We can go in there and say, ‘Hey, guys, you have to start good,’ but they kind of know that. Sometimes you don’t play well early, and you get scored on. Hockey’s a funny game. Sometimes you play well early, and you get scored on, and there’s a momentum side to it. So we just have to make sure our focus is on making sure we go out and play well from the very first drop of the puck.”
Blashill got his wish on Sunday, as the Blackhawks came out ready to play. The top line produced a couple of quality scoring chances on their first shift, and it set the tone for the rest of the period. They produced 18 shot attempts, nine scoring chances, and two high-danger chances. The Predators had 13 scoring chances and six high-danger looks, so it was a perfect period by any means, but it was much better than the last three games.
Penalty Kill Back on Top
The Blackhawks have had the NHL’s best penalty kill for some time, but they have recently been knocked out of the top spot by the Pittsburgh Penguins. They went a span of 36 games between Dec. 10 and March 12 without giving up more than one power-play in a game. They’ve allowed two power-play goals in two of the last four games.
Louis Crevier has taken a bigger role on the penalty kill since the trade deadline earlier this month. He was bumped up to take Connor Murphy’s role as the first guy over the boards for shorthanded ice time, and it’s had a trickle-down effect. He was out of the lineup against the Avalanche on Friday, when the Blackhawks surrendered two power-play goals.
“We’ve given up more in the last little stretch than we did obviously before, and some of that is you lose some guys, and these other guys have to get the amount of reps you need,” Blashill said. “If you think back, the guys like Murph and those guys had chances in preseason to get comfortable in it. Louis’ killed, but not as much as Murph did, so he’s killing more. Arty’s killing more. He’s had almost no reps because he doesn’t do it in practice either. So you just kind of have to live with some learning by trial. It’s just the reality of it. But certainly, we like to have Louis back in the lineup. He’s definitely a good penalty killer.”
The penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 today. Crevier was in the box for the first kill, so Alex Vlasic and Artyom Levshunov were the first over the boards. Vlasic led the team with 3:56 of shorthanded time. Crevier still got 2:12 of shorthanded time after his penalty.
In the end, Spencer Knight was the best penalty killer on the team as the Predators had eight shots on goal and 10 scoring chances, seven of which were deemed high-danger, in their six minutes on the man advantage. The Blackhawks are back on top of the league after the Penguins allowed three power-play goals to the Carolina Hurricanes today.
Nuggets & TidbitsMatt Grzelcyk left the game early in the first period after a strange sequence. He traded shoves with Erik Haula after a whistle, then all of a sudden fell to the ice in pain. It looked like he hurt his left shoulder or peck, but there wasn’t anything vicious about the exchange. He did not return to the game and has already been ruled out for the upcoming four-game road trip. Expect a Kevin Korchinski call-up at some point tomorrow.
It’s hard to tell what happened but Matt Grzelcyk was in some serious discomfort after this and stayed down for a while before going to Chicago’s locker room. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/pyXkLbmy4K
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 22, 2026Much like in Minnesota last week, the Blackhawks entered the third period with a 2-1 lead and did not take their foot off the gas. At 5-on-5, they held the advantage in play with an 8-3 scoring-chance advantage, but they couldn’t get that third goal. When you zoom out and look at the big picture, the Blackhawks are trying for that extra goal when leading in the final frame, instead of playing on their heels and hoping not to get scored on like they were earlier in the season. That’s positive progress. Nick Lardis finally got an entire game in the top six, and he took full advantage of it. Blashill said today was his best game since being recalled. It’s funny how playing with other talented players can bring out the best in him. While his goal hit off a Nashville defender, it came on a rush that might not have happened on the fourth line. The second line with Lardis, Frank Nazar, and Tyler Bertuzzi had an 8-3 advantage in shot attempts, 6-2 in shots on goal, and 4-3 in high-danger chances. Individually, Lardis had two shots on goal and two scoring chances.
the goal, the replay, the celly… we’ve got it all ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XRcwCZLcSO
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 22, 2026I’m getting tired of writing about Andre Burakovsky’s extremely long leash as much as you are of watching him make offensive-zone turnovers. He had four of those today, by the way. He was taken off the puck far too easily on Nashville’s overtime goal, putting two young players, Levshunov and Larids, in a bad spot. And yet, Blashill credited his effort and confidence. Those two things are great, but two goals in the last 33 games and one assist in the last 26 games while playing with Connor Bedard are unacceptable. At least it should be. Meanwhile, Ryan Greene set up Bedard for his team-leading 29th goal of the season. He’s had a point in all four games against the Predators this season, with two goals and two assists. But, with Anton Frondell coming as early as Tuesday, it sounds like Greene will come off the first line and not Burakovsky. Blashill hinted after the game that he wants to try Greene out at center over the last few games of the season. That means a bottom-six role since he’s not taking Bedard or Nazar’s job. While third-line center is likely his best-suited position when this team is back in contention, reward him for playing better on the first line this season than the veteran making $5.5 million.
BEDSYYYYYYYYYYY pic.twitter.com/6LG7figoii
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 22, 2026Finally, Blashill and his coaching staff had a special guest drop in before the game. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was at the game today and had this fun exchange with the Blackhawks’ bench boss. During the game, Johnson was shown on the scoreboard and got a huge ovation from the United Center crowd. Enjoy it while it lasts, Ben!
when worlds collide 🏈🤝🏒 pic.twitter.com/JZaRau4tKC
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 22, 2026