Luke Evangelista tallied 2 points in Nashville’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks’ losing streak now extends to 5 games.

First Period: 

The beginning of the Blackout era started strongly for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Both Tyler Bertuzzi and Colton Dach were among those who were provided a plethora of chances early. Connor Bedard cut through 2 Predators defenders en route to a great opportunity. Nashville responded by attempting to spring Erik Haula on a breakaway, but his attempt was stuffed by a strong backcheck. The Predators played the neutral zone very well, especially in the first 10 minutes. Ryan Perbix would go to the box for the Predators. And after 2 minutes of a strong power play, including an Andre Burakovsky shot right in front that Juuse Saros turned away.

The pressure was too much for Brady Skjei to handle, as in the same shift as the expiration of the Perbix penalty, Skjei caught his stick under Ryan Donatos’ visor, leading to bloodshed and a 4-minute minor. Roman Josi bullied Bertuzzi in front during a 4-minute onslaught of Black jerseys. This was only interrupted by a Nick Blankeburg solo effort that resulted in two shots. It wasn’t until after 6 minutes of PowerPlay time that Ryan Donato would get his revenge 

Sam Rinzel passed the puck up to Ryan Donato on Nashville’s blue line. Donato waited for the cut by Rinzel, forcing Roman Josi to make a decision and giving Donato time to cut inside. And as he cut, he delivered a shot above Juuse Saros’s shoulder, giving the Chicago Blackhawks the advantage heading into the locker room. 

Story continues below.

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Second Period:

In the second frame, it was all Nashville all day. Matthew Wood opened the scoring for the Preds just a minute and a half into the frame, tying the game at one. Nashville kept the pressure piled on. Ozzy Wiesblatt and Brady Skjei both had shots right in the slot on Arvid Soderblom. Finally, Steven Stamkos tapped the puck past the goal line to give Nashville its first lead of the night. Ayrtom Levshunov only helped the Predators as his penalty put the Chicago Blackhawks fully on their heels.

Luckily, Soderblom stood tall during and after the penalty as Chicago shifted the tide of the game back into their favor. Soon after, Andre Burakovsky stole the puck at his own blue line and put his breakaway chance just wide. Later, Connor Bedard’s one-timer was saved by the arm of Saros. 

With about 6:30 left in the period, Wiesblatt would make knee-on-knee contact with Oliver Moore, which Colton Dach took exception to. This resulted in a huge scrum with multiple fights. In the end, Chicago came out with a man advantage. A very important one, too, after Ryan Greene put his shot behind Saros’ shoulder to tie the game and send the Madhouse into a frenzy.

However, the frenzy would only last 52 seconds. Steven Stamkos shot hit Luke Evanglista. Evanglista collected the puck from his feet, backed up, turned, and fired a rocket past Arvid Soderblom. Nashville’s Michael Bunting would get a mini breakaway after Andre Buravosky turned the puck over in his own zone, and the teams went back and forth in the final minute. When the dust settled, Nashville held the one-goal advantage 

Third Period:

The Chicago Blackhawks desperately needed a goal coming out of the break. It would be Ryan O’Rielly who scored, however. O’Rielly received a dish from Evangilsita and beat Arvid Soderblom one-on-one to extend the Predators’ lead. Chicago finally woke up and pushed for a goal. After some unlucky bounces kept the score at a stalemate, a lucky one gave the Madhouse hope. 

 

Frank Nazar retreated to center ice and made a cross pass to Wyatt Kaiser. Kaiser dumped the puck in deep and took a weird bounce off the corner, then off Saros, who went to play it. Teuvo Teravainen crashed the net, and the puck landed at his feet, allowing him to draw his team closer. The Blackhawks kept going for that equalizer and maintained solid possession throughout. However, it would all be for nought as Sam Rinzel committed a fatal interference penalty with just 3:30 left on the clock. The Chicago Blackhawks fell to the Nashville Predators at home 4-3.

Cowboys 3 Stars of the Game

Luke Evangelista, NSH, 1G, 1A 2P, W

Ryan O’Rielly, NSH, 1G, GWG, W 

Ryan Greene, CHI, 1G 

The Cowboy Round-Up and What’s On Tap

The rough stretch for Chicago just gets tougher. What seemed like Cloud 9 for Chicago after the triumph over the Flames has led to a slippery slope back down to reality. The reality is that this team is still young. It was naive to think that they were ready for that, not a step, but a huge leap into the playoff pictures. Before the season, I held to the idea that Chicago’s path would look more like Anaheim’s last year. A 20-point jump that gets you out of the top 4 talks but in the high lottery. And over the last week, that is what it looks like. The young players played decently, no real standouts outside Ryan Greene tonight. A note that I’ve recognized is that Bedard is getting caught net front too often when he needs to be able to move and facilitate more. Outside of that, growing pains will be growing pains. The only thing that can happen is to let them pass.

OnTap for Chicago is the Anaheim Ducks on the last day of the month, November 30th, at 2 p.m. Central Time. If you attend, be sure to wear black again.