NASHVILLE—Brian Campbell kept the Blackhawks rolling away from home.Campbell scored with 1:05 remaining to lead the Blackhawks over the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight win.The Blackhawks established a new franchise record with their eighth consecutive road victory.
”It’s a fun accomplishment knowing the organization has had a proud history and some great tradition here,” Joel Quenneville said. ”We did play in some tough buildings and some tough games and finding a way to win a lot of nights differently. Tonight was probably a good illustration of that.”
Patrick Kane scored twice, including an empty-netter after Campbell’s goal, and Jordin Tootoo and Jonathan Toews also scored for the Hawks, who have won 12 of 13. Corey Crawford made 32 saves.With the win, the Blackhawks moved one point ahead of the idle Minnesota Wild for the top spot in the Central Division. The Hawks have played three more games than the Wild.Viktor Arvidsson scored twice and Calle Jarnkrok also had a goal for Nashville, which has lost two straight.With time winding down in the third and the score tied at 3, Toews had the puck on the right wall in the Nashville zone. He sent a pass to Campbell in the slot, where he beat goaltender Juuse Saros with a wrist shot. Saros made 28 saves.The goal was Campbell’s first in his last 20 games played.
”I haven’t scored in a little bit,” Campbell said. ”I’ve had some chances and can’t finish. Johnny made a great play. It’s always nice scoring a big goal to help our team.”
For the second consecutive game, the Predators allowed a go-ahead goal late. In Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Montreal, the Canadiens scored with nine seconds remaining to win the game.Kane scored the game’s first goal at 16:23 of the opening period. With the Hawks on a power play, Kane beat Saros on the far side with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot.Tootoo made it 2-0 at 11:03 of the second after Nashville defenseman Yannick Weber blocked Brent Seabrook’s slap shot from the center of the blue line. Tootoo picked up the puck and moved to the low slot, where he beat Saros with a wrist shot.The goal was the first point in 28 games this season for Tootoo, a former Predator.
”When you have great leadership and guys who’ve been through adversity, there’s no panic button,” Tootoo said. ”That’s what’s great in our dressing room here. We all encourage each other to be loose out there and focused on the task out hand.”
Arvidsson halved the Blackhawk lead 1:17 later. Skating across the Hawk blue line, he was able to tip the puck away from Seabrook and then gained position on Duncan Keith before beating Crawford with a wrist shot to the stick side.Toews and Jarnkrok traded goals in the final minute of the second, with Toews striking on the power play at 19:03 on the power play and Jarnkrok responding 14 seconds later.Arvidsson scored his second of the game at 4:13 of the third. Ryan Johansen carried the puck into the Hawk zone on the right side. At the top of the faceoff circle, he left a drop pass for Arvidsson, who skated to the lower part of the circle and beat Crawford with a sharp-angle wrist shot on the short-side.
NOTES—The Blackhawks won four of the five meetings with Nashville this season. … Predators D Ryan Ellis missed the game with a lower-body injury from Thursday night in Montreal. He was replaced by Anthony Bitetto, who had been a healthy scratch in Nashville’s last 13 games. … Kane had nine points (three goals, six assists) in five games against Nashville this season. … With two assists, Richard Panik extended his points streak to eight games.The Blackhawks host Anaheim on Thursday night.Ha