Recap: Blackhawks new top line outshined by Predators Juuse Saros in 3-2 shootout loss Thursday
A familiar ending to the Chicago Blackhawks facing the Nashville Predators on Thursday night as the Blackhawks came out of the gates well, played very strong for seven solid minutes and than everything went to garbage.
An unfortunate penalty by Blackhawks Ilya Mikheyev as he flipped the puck over the glass, causing a delay of game penalty early on.
Just 12 seconds into the Predators powerplay, they opened the scoring. The following faceoff, Pat Maroon attempted to get the momentum back for the Blackhawks and dropped the gloves with fellow heavyweight Michael McCarron.
Outshooting the Predators in the first period 9-5 despite having a 3-0 power play advantage, it was a high-intensity first period with 22 hits in the first 20 minutes of the game.
The Blackhawks' physical game paid off, especially on their new looking top line of Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi, as they scored two goals in 87 seconds to turn the game around.
A bad line change shifted everything when Predators Filip Forsberg was left all alone with minutes remaining in the third period, and he capitalized on the opportunity.
Three stars of the game in Nashville Predators vs Chicago Blackhawks
Arvid Soderblom, stopping 39 of 41 shots.
Connor Bedard, scoring his 13th goal of the season.
Tyler Bertuzzi, who had multiple assists and created the most scoring chances for the Blackhawks.
Aside from Bertuzzi, Frank Nazar was the Blackhawks' most prominent forward on Thursday, he stood out more than Bedard.
He also had his best NHL game to date.
