Western Conference Round 1, Game 5: Predators 5, Blackhawks 2 – Recap

After a pair of wins in Chicago, the Hawks were back in Nashville for game 5, as they looked to close out the Predators. The Hawks would get a power play 3:06 into the game after Ryan Ellis was sent off for tripping Patrick Sharp. The Hawks would get a couple nice looks in the first minute before Nashville took control and killed off the rest of the penalty. After some great play by the Hawks, Brad Richards scored the game’s first goal 13:27 into the period, going five-hole on Pekka Rinne. Filip Forsberg tied the game 14:42 in on a shot right after a face-off. The Hawks would get another power play just over eighteen-and-a-half minutes into the period after James Neal was sent off for holding. The Hawks would be unable to score in the 1:29 remaining in the period and would go into the first intermission tied at 1, with 31 seconds of power play time awaiting them to start the second period.

The Hawks would be unable to score in the 31 remaining seconds of power play time to open the second. The Hawks would go to the penalty kill for the first time in the game just over nine minutes into the second after Brent Seabrook was sent off for slashing. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. Both teams would have chances the rest of the way in the second, but neither would score, and after two, the teams remained tied at 1.

The Predators took the lead 47 seconds into the period on a wraparound goal by James Neal. Two-and-a-half minutes into the period, Michal Roszival was sent off for interference and the Hawks went to the penalty kill. The Predators would convert 32 seconds into the man advantage on a goal by Colin Wilson. Twelve seconds later, Forsberg scored again to give Nashville a 4-1 lead. The Hawks would go back to the penalty kill 6:47 into the third after Andrew Shaw was sent off for goalie interference. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Hawks scored 14:52 into the third on a goal by Kris Versteeg after a great pass from Patrick Kane to cut the lead to 2. After pulling Darling for the extra attacker, Marian Hossa would get called for slashing, and Nashville would get a power play. After the whistle, a scrum broke out, leading to roughing penalties and game misconducts for Andrew Shaw and Paul Gaustad, as well as a roughing penalty for Seth Jones. After the dust settled, the Predators would still have the man advantage. The Hawks would get Darling off for the extra attacker again and the Hawks would get a couple nice looks, but nothing got past Rinne. After Versteeg whiffed on an attempt at getting the puck out of the Hawks’ defensive zone, Forsberg picked up the puck and hit the empty net to complete the hat trick. This would be the final goal scored and the Hawks would fall 5-2.

Scott Darling let in a couple bad ones in this game, but he’s still the better option at goalie. The defense hasn’t been good in this series; it’s been equally bad regardless of who’s minding the net. Darling has made some great saves and had as much to do with the Hawks winning games 1 and 4 as anybody. He should start game 6.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Brad Richards, C, CHI (1 G, 1 A)

★★ James Neal, LW, NSH (1 G, 1 A)

★ Filip Forsberg, C, NSH (3 G)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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