10 observations: Hawks extend point streak but lose in OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks lost to the Nashville Predators 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena, snapping their two-game winning streak.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The Blackhawks made an interesting decision by starting Malcolm Subban instead of Kevin Lankinen, who had started three straight games and was 2-0-1 with a .949 save percentage at 5-on-5 over that span. Subban, who hadn't played since the season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, stopped the first 19 shots he faced and finished with 36 saves on 39 shots for a save percentage of .923. He was really solid.
2. The Blackhawks went into this matchup with the second-best power-play percentage at 42.1. The Predators had the second-worst penalty kill percentage at 55.0. The Blackhawks capitalized on their first power-play chance of the game, making it seven consecutive games with a tally.
3. The Blackhawks scored the first goal for the third straight game after allowing the first two goals in each of the first four contests. They're 2-0-1 when scoring first this season and 0-3-1 when giving up the first goal.
4. The Predators led in shot attempts (72-36), shots on goal (39-20), 5-on-5 scoring chances (27-13) and 5-on-5 high-danger chances (5-4), according to Natural Stat Trick. The Blackhawks led in the most important department (goals) for the majority of the game but squandered the lead in the third period.
5. The Blackhawks were without two key players in Adam Boqvist and Alex DeBrincat, both of whom were added to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list on Monday and will be sidelined for at least two weeks. Matthew Highmore and Lucas Carlsson filled their respective spots in the lineup.
6. With Boqvist and DeBrincat out, the Blackhawks' lines and pairings had a different look. Mattias Janmark was moved to the first line with Patrick Kane and Pius Suter while Highmore played left wing on the third line with Andrew Shaw and Carl Soderberg. Carlsson played on the top pairing with Duncan Keith.
7. Janmark was promoted to the first line and made the most of his opportunity. He potted a breakaway goal in the second period to put the Blackhawks in front 2-1 and has now scored in three straight games. Janmark also tied Kane and Suter for the team lead with three goals this season.
8. With no Boqvist and DeBrincat, Keith was moved to the top power-play unit, along with Dominik Kubalik. Ian Mitchell was expected to man the second power-play unit but never got the opportunity because the Blackhawks had only 2:02 of power-play time.
9. The Blackhawks' fourth line of Ryan Carpenter, Brandon Hagel and David Kampf was terrific. They led out-attempted (13-5) and out-chanced (6-0) the Predators during 5-on-5 play and did it while playing against Nashville's top line.
10. Patrick Kane did not record a single shot attempt. He had two games last season where he finished with no shots on goal, but in each of them, he registered at least four attempts. You don't see that very often.
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