Game 33 Preview And Open Thread: Blackhawks vs. Predators
Puck Drop: Dec. 19, 7:30 PM CT
Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 15-15-2
Points: 32
Place: 4th in Central, t-11th in Western Conference
Power Play Percentage/Rank: 17.8%, 14th in NHL
Penalty Kill Percentage/Rank: 84.4%, t-8th in NHL
Blackhawks Team Statistics
vs.
Nashville Predators
Record: 14-15-2
Points: 30
Place: 5th in Central, 12th in Western Conference
Power Play Percentage/Rank: 12.7%, 29th in NHL
Penalty Kill Percentage/Rank: 83.8%, 11th in NHL
Predators Team Statistics
Offense
1st line: LW Havlat - C Lang - RW Kontiola
2nd line: LW Sharp - C Toews - RW Kane
3rd line: LW Ruutu - C Bolland - RW Burish
4th line: LW Eager - C Perreault - RW Lapointe
Defense
1st pairing: Keith/Seabrook
2nd pairing: Zyuzin/Sopel
3rd pairing: Wisniewski/Byfuglien
Goalie
Khabibulin
Scratches: Johansson (healthy), Samsonov (healthy), Koci (healthy)
Injured Reserve: Bourque, Adams, Williams, Dowell
Now would be a fantastic time to start winning again, Hawks. Chicago is 1-6-0 in December and have dropped their last two in a row. The play has gotten ugly lately and let's hope whatever was wrong has been corrected and this team can get back to playing winning hockey.
The Hawks are 0-1-1 against the Predators this year, with the first meeting coming on November 4th at home, a 5-2 loss. They later met in Nashville on November 15th, which was a 5-4 OT loss for the Blackhawks.
Nashville usually gives the 'Hawks fits, especially at the UC, so let's hope this team is ready and determined to turn it around and we see a different club tonight then the one we've seen so far in December.
