NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Draft order be damned, the Blackhawks played to win until the season's final whistle.
The Hawks took an early two-goal lead Saturday and tried their best to give themselves a worse spot in the June draft but lost 5-2 to the Predators in a spirited season finale. The Hawks finished at 36-34-12 (84 points), the 12th-worst record in the league. Only the Wild (83 points) finished behind them in the seven-team Central Division.
Viktor Arvidsson's power-play goal snapped a 2-2 tie with 16 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third period.
The Hawks have a 2.5 percent chance of winning the top pick _ most likely to be American forward Jack Hughes _ and an 8.2 percent chance of getting one of the top three picks in Tuesday night's draft lottery. It is the second consecutive season the Hawks missed the playoffs after nine straight appearances _ including three Stanley Cups.
If the Hawks don't beat the odds and move up, they'll have the 12th pick unless the holders of one (or more) of the picks below them moves up. It's a long shot that they would even drop one spot.
After the Blues won Saturday, the Predators needed a win in regulation or overtime to claim the Central Division title. A shootout win would have resulted in the Blues finishing ahead of the Predators based on tiebreakers and provided the Jets a chance to win the division with a victory in their late game against the Coyotes.
Hawks goalie Cam Ward made many point-blank and acrobatic saves to keep the game close and finished with 45 saves.
The Predators swarmed Ward to start the game, but less than three minutes in, Brendan Perlini wristed a shot past Pekka Rinne for his first goal and point in his last 10 games.
Midway through the first, the Hawks still only had two shots on goal. Drake Caggiula had the third shot and made it count, taking a great pass from Patrick Kane in the slot and beating Rinne for his 12th goal and fifth with the Hawks. Kane's assist increased his season total to a career-best 110 points.
The Predators followed a 14-shot first period by sending 22 shots at Ward in the second period and tying the game on goals by Dante Fabbro and Filip Forsberg. The Hawks killed successive penalties late in the second, but Forsberg tied the game seven seconds after the second power play expired.
