UA-59049186-1 Western Conference Round 1, Game 3: Blackhawks 4, Predators 2 - Recap - Good if it Goes

Western Conference Round 1, Game 3: Blackhawks 4, Predators 2 – Recap

With round one of the Western Conference playoffs tied 1-1, the series moved to Chicago for game 3. The Predators got the game’s first power play 53 seconds in when Kimmo Timonen was sent off for holding. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Hawks seized the momentum and got a few nice looks before finally scoring the game’s first goal 14:48 in, when Andrew Desjardins got a shot through Pekka Rinne for his first goal as a Blackhawk. The Predators answered 31 seconds later on a goal by Mike Ribeiro, the first given up by Darling in the series. The Predators went back to the power play 17:54 in when Marian Hossa was sent off for hooking. The Hawks would kill off the penalty. Nobody scored in the final six seconds of the period, and after one, the teams were tied at 1.

The Hawks re-took the lead 36 seconds into the second on a goal by Jonathan Toews. Again, Nashville answered quickly, this time only 22 seconds later on a goal by Mattias Ekholm. The Hawks would take the lead again 3:38 into the period on a goal by Brandon Saad. We would see 4-on-4 action 6:40 into the period when Bryan Bickell and Paul Gaustad were both sent off for roughing. Neither team would score during the 4-on-4. After a great possession and a few great looks, Brent Seabrook scored to expand the Hawks lead to 2. The Hawks would have a couple chances to expand the lead further, but nothing else got past Rinne there, and the Hawks led 4-2 after two.

The Hawks got off to a good start in the third, nearly expanding the lead to 5-2 when a Jonathan Toews shot got through Rinne, but the whistle sounded before the puck could cross the line. The Hawks would get their first power play of the game 6:36 into the period when Paul Gaustad was sent off for high-sticking. The Hawks would struggle to get anything going and would come away empty. The Hawks would play good defense and limit Nashville’s opportunities to maintain their two goal lead when Nashville pulled Rinne in favor of the extra attacker. The Hawks would get a few looks at the empty net, but were unable to get anything to go. With 43 seconds to play, the Hawks would get a power play after Mike Ribeiro was sent off for holding. With the faceoff coming back to the Nashville defensive zone, Rinne needed to return to the ice and would ultimately be unable to get off again. The Hawks played keep-away in their offensive zone and let the clock run out to finish off the 4-2 win.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Scott Darling, G, CHI (35 SV, 2 GA)

★★ Marian Hossa, RW, CHI (2 A)

★ Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (1 G, 1 A)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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