The Blackhawks held on to beat the Nashville Predators two-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Right here are 10 observations from the win:

1. Going into Thursday, the Predators had been 13–three in their final 16 games against Chicago. The Blackhawks lastly beat the Predators in regulation for the initially time given that Dec. 18, 2018, which was a two-1 win at the United Center. Go figure.

two. Alex Stalock had a bit of a shaky get started but settled down soon after the initially period, despite the fact that it did not come without the need of a handful of hold-your-breath moments, which I will get to in the subsequent bullet point. His most crucial quit of the evening came on Philip Tomasino, who had a breakaway in the initially period of a – game but Stalock created the save — he had to appear back to make positive it did not slip previous him. Stalock stopped 35 of 36 shots for a save percentage of .972. His shutout bid was broken with 23.six seconds left in regulation. Ouch.

three. The Predators had been awarded a penalty shot in the second period soon after Stalock threw his stick at Rasmus Asplund, but they could not capitalize on their try. Matt Duchene mishandled the puck and Stalock created the uncomplicated save. It was the third straight game Stalock faced a penalty shot soon after performing so against Boston on Tuesday when he denied David Pastrnak and Detroit final week when he stopped Dylan Larkin. A hard missed chance for the Predators.

four. The line of Joey Anderson, Boris Katchouk and Jujhar Khaira was, by far, the most productive trio for Chicago. When the 3 of them had been on the ice collectively at even strength, the Blackhawks led in shot attempts (19-eight) and scoring probabilities (9-three), per All-natural Stat Trick. When the other 3 lines had been on the ice, the Blackhawks trailed in shot attempts (37-16) and scoring probabilities (17-7). Oh, I forgot to mention, Anderson scored his third objective in 5 games to place his group ahead two-, which was the icing on the cake. They earned that objective.

five. The Blackhawks scored the initially objective for the sixth time in seven games. In 4 of the final six games, they’ve held two- leads. They’ve gotten off to some good begins lately, which was a major struggle for them earlier in the season.

six. Lukas Reichel scored his third profession NHL objective, and it will in all probability be one particular of the weirder ones he scores at this level. He and Andreas Athanasiou had a two-on-1, and Reichel’s attempted pass to Athanasiou was broken up by Dante Fabbro, who ended up crashing into Juuse Saros. The puck then identified its way in mainly because the momentum carried it forward, and it occurred when the net came off its moorings. It counted mainly because the Predators knocked the net off themselves.

7. I believed the Caleb and Seth Jones pairing was strong. They led the group in ice time however once more, and the ice tilted in the Blackhawks’ favor when they had been out there.

eight. With Jonathan Toews nonetheless out, Max Domi traded, and Cole Guttman out for the season with a shoulder injury, the Blackhawks’ center depth has taken a key hit. The Blackhawks have been one particular of the very best faceoff teams all season lengthy, but they have not been as sturdy in that division as of late.

9. Even even though they had been sellers at the trade deadline, the Predators have caught fire the final handful of weeks. They are eight-three-1 more than their final 12 games and are only 4 points out of the final wildcard spot in the West with 3 games in hand. And they are performing it without the need of their top objective scorer Filip Forsberg. Who would’ve believed? I never believe they will go really far if they get into the playoffs, but they are battling.

ten. The Blackhawks signed defenseman prospect Wyatt Kaiser to a 3-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday. He joined the group on the 5-game road trip but didn’t play in this game. They want him to get a handful of practices in initially. He’s a very good all-about defenseman, and I am curious to see how his game will translate to the NHL level.

Click right here to subscribe to the Blackhawks Speak Podcast for cost-free.