Dec. 11--In Game 1 of the teams' first-round playoff series last season, the Predators jumped to a three-goal lead only to see the Blackhawks come back and win in double overtime.
The Predators duplicated that feat Thursday but with a much different result in a 5-1 victory over the Hawks.
The two performances were not that similar in the horrified eyes of coach Joel Quenneville.
"That was hard to watch, that first 20 minutes," Quenneville said. "That's as ugly as I've ever seen us play. ... It was worse than the first period of the first playoff game here last year."
But seriously, tell us how you really feel, Coach.
After the Predators trampled all over the Hawks in the first period, only one question mattered for the remainder of the evening: Would Patrick Kane extend his point streak to 24 games?
Yes, he would. With a goal in the third period, Kane provided the lone bright spot for the Hawks on an otherwise woeful night in Music City that would have been decent fodder for a forlorn country ballad.
At 5 minutes, 43 seconds of the third, goaltender Pekka Rinne appeared to have covered up the puck in the Predators net. But center Marcus Kruger was able to poke the puck loose as Kane crashed the net.
Kane slammed the puck home for his 18th goal of the season, keeping his streak going for another night.
Predators coach Peter Laviolette challenged the call, contending Kane and Kruger interfered with Rinne, but the goal stood upon review.
"It's really tough to do what he's doing," captain Jonathan Toews said before the game. "I can't even put two games together. I don't know how he has 25 or whatever the hell it is now. It's impressive. It's definitely given our team a boost."
But the boosters were out of fuel Thursday.
Entering the night, goaltender Scott Darling had fond memories of Nashville. He pitched a shutout after replacing Corey Crawford in that April 15 playoff game.
Those memories won't be as rosy after Thursday.
The Predators fired the first 10 shots on goal not even five minutes into the game, and Darling survived the early barrage. But like a levy trying to hold back an overflowing river, Darling could not keep the Predators at bay for long.
"We didn't have much going in any areas, and they were all over us," Quenneville said. "We couldn't make anything. We did nothing right."
James Neal scored the first of his two goals in the first period, and Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg also scored. Under normal circumstances, Quenneville might have pulled his goaltender after such a period, but with the Hawks playing Friday, Quenneville kept Darling in the net.
Quenneville wanted to make one thing clear after the game.
"It wasn't the goalie's fault -- at all," he said.
Luckily for the rest of the Hawks, they have a game Friday against the Jets. Otherwise, practice might not have been a fun one.
chine@tribpub.com
Chris Hine's three stars
1. James Neal, Predators: Winger tallied two goals, the first coming on nice stick work.
2. Pekka Rinne, Predators: Kept the Hawks at bay with strong final two periods and made 35 saves.
3. Filip Forsberg, Predators: Scored in the first period, finished with five shots.
Up next: Vs. Jets, 7:30 p.m. Friday, CSN.
