Dec. 07--NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With lights flashing and music at ear-splitting decibels, the public address announcer at Bridgestone Arena introduced the home team as "your Central Division-leading Nashville Predators!"
Three hours later Saturday night, that no longer held true as the Blackhawks vaulted the Preds in the Central with an impressive 3-1 victory before a boisterous crowd of 17,212 with fairly divided loyalties.
It wasn't long ago that the Hawks would make quick, furtive glances at the standings before going about their business.
These days, they aren't afraid to gawk openly at them.
"You always kind of keep an eye on it ... just to see how things are going (but) especially when things are going well you maybe look at it more often," captain Jonathan Toews said.
Saturday's victory over the Predators was the Hawks' sixth in a row and 11th in their last 13 games Coach Joel Quenneville had no problem identifying what is going right.
"Everybody is playing the right way and having a purpose," Quenneville said. "(There's) that energy and enthusiasm in the room and on the bench. Before, it was almost like you look on each line and you could say one guy, two guys, but now everybody is doing their thing and bringing something to the table."
The run of victories, with Marian Hossa sparking things Saturday with two scores along with a goal and an assist from linemate Brandon Saad, has erased the memory of the Hawks' erratic start to the season. They now top the Central with 37 points, one more than both the Predators and Blues.
"So many positive things come out of streaks like this," winger Bryan Bickell said. "Before the streak started we were playing good hockey but we just weren't getting those bounces. Now, the bounces are coming our way and the puck is going in the back of the net. You can look at the stats and all that, but playing the full 60 minutes is what we need to do and play Blackhawks hockey."
Before the current scorching run, the Hawks had a stretch when they couldn't maintain consistency and posted a 7-6-1 record.
"We were on that bubble line where we either could have gotten frustrated or stuck with it, and we stuck with it," Bickell said. "We stayed positive through those patches and it has paid off now."
Once they began making positive strides, the Hawks have displayed the ability to maintain them.
"It's not always easy, but we try and maintain that day-in-and-day-out focus that we're not looking too far ahead," Toews said. "When things are rolling and you have momentum you just have to realize it's something you don't want to let go of too easily. Just focus on the next task and not worry about too much more than that.
"We feel good in the locker room, guys are having fun (and) there's a lot of energy. Guys are working hard and we're getting the results we want. We can kind of contrast that with where we were maybe a month ago when it was a little more frustrating -- we were working hard but we weren't seeing the results we wanted. It's a little bit tougher to work through that sometimes.
"With that in mind, we can continue to have fun, make sure we're paying attention to details and we're doing the right things on the ice as a team and we'll keep this thing going."
While the standings in early December mean little in the grand scheme of things -- except possibly to the surprising Predators -- it's never too early to take a peek.
"You definitely look at them," Bickell said. "You can see the teams that are doing well and the teams that are trying to fight. It seems like you have to win at least three of four games to stay up in the mix of things in our division."
ckuc@tribpub.com
Twitter @ChrisKuc
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