Predators' forechecking breaks down in Game 2

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Nashville Predators' forechecking breaks down in Game 2 loss to Chicago Blackhawks



In Game 1, Nashville's forechecking not only led directly to a Predators goal but also kept Chicago from breaking smoothly out of its zone.


That wasn't the case in Game 2 on Sunday, when the Blackhawks captured a 2-0 victory, and aggressive forechecking is something the Predators are putting near the top of the priority list for Game 3.

"You have to have a forecheck to have a chance,'' defenseman Ryan Suter said. "If you let them break out easy as they did last game, they're going to come down and then they're a puck possession team. When they break out as easy as they did, it's going to cause us trouble.''

Hornqvist update: Predators right wing Patric Hornqvist did not participate in the team's optional practice on Monday, and his status for Game 3 will be determined today.



But Coach Barry Trotz said that even if Nashville's only 30-goal scorer is not available, other players have to be willing to get their hands dirty around the net.

"We just need more of a guy stepping into Patric's role when he's not in,'' Trotz said. "(On Sunday), no one did it very well and we weren't able to generate chances.''

Measured ice time: Predators rookie defenseman Cody Franson has seen only spot duty in the first two games. He was on the ice just 5:58 (1:13 on the power play) in Game 1 and increased his total to 8:56 (4:05 on the power play) in Game 2.

"Cody hasn't been getting as much ice time, so when he gets out there, he's not as maybe, relaxed,'' Trotz said. "It's hard to sit on the bench for 8-10 minutes then go out on the power play. That's part of the problem.''

Surprisingly effective: The fourth line of Nick Spaling, Dustin Boyd and Jerred Smithson was surprisingly effective in the offensive zone against Chicago in Game 2, creating more chances than any other Nashville line.

"We were clicking,'' Smithson said. "We kept it simple. We chipped pucks, tried to work the corners, and get the puck to the point and back to the net. We really didn't do anything special, just a lot of hard work and grunt work.

"But we have to capitalize. We had a lot of chances, but didn't score.''

 

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Quenneville: Hawks must keep fighting in Game 3


Without much subtlety, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville called out his own roster to demonstrate some fight Sunday night. He got it, and now going into Game 3 against the Predators, he expects it to continue -- if the Hawks have any desire of recapturing control of the series.

"I like the way that we competed," Quenneville said today, before the team headed to Nashville, Tenn. "Each and every game is going to be more demanding.

"I think that's going to be the recipe for being successful going forward -- strength in the puck area, tenacity in the net, fighting for that space and the second effort and the second opportunities are usually going to be rewarded. It's tight. There's not a lot of room. You've got to fight for your space."


The reunited blue-line combo of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith?

"We'll keep them together going forward," Quenneville said. "We like them getting back together, the quantity and quality of minutes you get from them. They give you that predictability that a top pair can provide. It's been a little bit since we've seen them together. But we like them getting back together and forming a solid grouping."

The rejiggered line combos from Sunday night?

"We'll see," Quenneville said. "We'll talk about it a little bit more. When you win, you usually don't change or tweak too much. But if you don't like the way things went, you like to move it around a little bit. But we've got a lot of options as far as who can play with who."

And clinging to the demand that his club battle for what it gets, Quenneville seemed almost giddy about heading into hostile environs for the first time this postseason.

"That's healthy for both teams," he said. "It's going to be a fun place to play - lots of noise, lots of enthusiasm, let's try to quiet the building as best we can. That's why we emphasize starts to games. Let's make sure we know it's going to be rambunctious in there and let's play accordingly."