Community Picks: Nashville Predators 0% vs Chicago Blackhawks 0%

The Capitals defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime. The NHL playoffs continue Saturday with a trio of evening contests. While it’s important to take Game 1 trends into account, a combination of playoff pedigree and regular season success provides the surest formula for finding value in these Game 2s. Continue to Article

April 15, 2017 7:53:am EST

Get tips, get deflections, get bodies to the net, get traffic, take away the goalies' eyes. It's the usual checklist for any team that wants to be successful, especially in the postseason. You want to score goals, get to the net. But in Game 1, the Blackhawks didn't check enough of those off against Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne. "He definitely saw a lot of the shots. We didn't make it too hard on him. He had a shutout, but it probably wasn't the hardest shutout he had in his life," Ryan Hartman said. "I just think we need to get more pucks to the net." The Blackhawks were implementing that a lot at Friday's practice, working on those tips, deflections and redirects. Now to use it Continue to Article

April 14, 2017 8:03:pm EST

Nick Schmaltz said on Tuesday that he knew his first NHL postseason was going to be different than when he won a national championship at North Dakota. Schmaltz may have been caught up in that somewhat in Game 1, during which he was bumped off the top line. On Friday, Schmaltz was on the Blackhawks' third line in practice, as it looks like they'll make some switches/changes. Continue to Article

April 14, 2017 3:05:pm EST

The Nashville Predators jumped in front of shots and got in the passing lanes for most of the night. On the precious few occasions that the Chicago Blackhawks found an open look, Pekka Rinne was there. Rinne made 29 saves, Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first period and the Predators beat the Blackhawks 1-0 on Thursday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Continue to Article

April 13, 2017 11:48:pm EST

Mike Babcock watched the first night of the Stanley Cup playoffs and was glad his players tuned in. ''It's important for your players to be able to watch on TV just how hard everyone plays and how little room there is and how the game works,'' the Toronto Maple Leafs coach said. What Babcock, his players and the rest of the NHL and fans saw on opening night was prototypical playoff hockey - not many goals, just 16 plus an empty-netter in five games. Continue to Article

April 13, 2017 7:59:pm EST