NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ The first-place Predators were without four of their best players, including P.K. Subban, Viktor Arvidsson and their most recent addition to injured reserve, leading scorer Filip Forsberg, who was put on IR hours before the game.
The sixth-place Blackhawks got back Henri Jokiharju after a two-game absence and aside from Connor Murphy, who hasn't played a minute all season, have been a pretty healthy bunch.
It seemed like it would be a fair fight. Instead, it was another first-period knockout.
The injury-riddled Predators ran roughshod over the Hawks, scoring three times in the first 4 minutes, 11 seconds on their way to a 5-2 win at Bridgestone Arena. Kevin Fiala, Eeli Tolvanen and Ryan Johansen scored the Predators' first three goals, all on barely contested shots in front of the net.
The Hawks lost for the fifth time in six games to drop to 9-13-5, including 3-7-2 since Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton took over after Joel Quenneville was fired. Even worse, the Hawks have not played with a lead in their last six games. Their lone win in that stretch was a 5-4 overtime victory over the Panthers in which they didn't lead until the OT winner.
Before the game, Colliton was hopeful for a strong rebound after Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Jets.
"We'll see how we respond," Colliton said. "I have to tell the truth to the team. It's not a lack of ability. It's not that we can't do what we need to do to win, it's just that we're not. We need everyone all in here. We need everyone committed.
"If we do that, then I think we'll be surprised at the results."
The results haven't turned up yet. The Hawks' first-period problems showed no signs of abating, as they allowed four more goals and have been outscored 17-4 in their last six opening frames. The Predators scored on three of their first four shots on backup goalie Cam Ward, who made his third start since Nov. 1.
The Hawks were without Duncan Keith for the majority of the game; he was ejected with 12:42 left in the first period. After Keith was checked hard into the boards near mid-ice by Miikka Salomaki, he tried to instigate a fight but was separated from Salomaki.
Alex DeBrincat came over to support Keith and ended up getting into a fight with 6-foot-1, 207-pound defenseman Matt Irwin, who has seven inches and more than 40 pounds on DeBrincat. While that bout was going on, Keith sought out Salomaki again and they rolled around on the ice for a few seconds before being pulled apart.
Keith picked up five penalties during the near-melee, including minors for roughing and instigating, a fighting major, a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct. It was the second time this season Keith was ejected in the opening minutes, leaving the team down a man for most of the game.
There was a glimmer of hope when Brandon Saad scored a shorthanded goal on the ensuing Predators' power play, but 75 seconds later Craig Smith made it 4-1.
As brutal as the Hawks' defensive efforts were in the first, the offense was equally inept with just two shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, and they were outshot 13-5 in the period.
