5 Quick Chicago Blackhawks Thoughts On 3-2 Loss To Nashville

The Chicago Blackhawks traveled to Nashville on Tuesday night and played on National TV, and they skated away with a hard fought 3-2 loss.   Here are 5 quick thoughts on the Blackhawks visit to Smashville.

5. Too Many Stupid Penalties! 

The Chicago Blackhawks cannot be this undisciplined against good teams like the Nashville Predators.  Duncan Keith took a very dumb unsportsmanlike penalty which gave the Predators a lot of momentum to start the 2nd period.

Then Patrick Kane took a very bad cross checking penalty which ended up becoming a powerplay goal for the Predators.  The Predators powerplay may not score every time, but they maintain pressure for 2 minutes, so giving them extra ones is not in the Hawks best interest in the future.

4. Missed Opportunities by 88

The Chicago Blackhawks could have been up 4-1 or more in the first period, but Patrick Kane was just a fraction off and couldn’t finish anything.  Kane had a totally open cage for a tap in goal, but the puck got stuck in his skates and the Preds defense finally arrived before Kane could get control of the puck.

Kane had 3 great chances in the first period where he normally capitalizes on.  His frustration led to a stupid penalty that we already covered, but all of a sudden the Hawks can’t cash in against the Predators. In the end it was Kane not converting that was the difference.

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3. Energy Line Activate

The 4th line has been very good all year long, but tonight they had a real good game if you throw out the late Lance Bouma penalty.  Tommy Wingels scored the first goal of the night, and then John Hayden did some great work on the boards and hit Bouma with a good feed that got through Pekka Rinne.

The thing about the line is they follow through on every check, and they forecheck like crazy which just eats up clock, and tonight they were able to cash in on their chances.

2. Alex DeBrincat Is Coming Into His Own

The first goal of the night by the Chicago Blackhawks was all DeBrincat, he negated an icing call, was strong on the puck and won the puck, and then he found Wingles all alone in the middle of a bunch of Predators.

DeBrincat looks stronger on the puck and he’s making plays now which is exciting to see.  He’s not just a kid trying to get lucky, but he plays 2oo feet and knows what to do when the puck finds him.

1. Anton Forsberg was solid 

There was nothing Forsberg could have done on that 2nd goal of the night.  If there is one he probably would like to get back, I would think it was the third goal although it did deflect off of Brent Seabrook and into the back of the net.

For not playing much, Forsberg was pretty sharp stopping 28 of 31 shots.  He didn’t get the win, but he held up nicely against the Predators offensive firepower. I saw some fans on Twitter saying he makes them nervous, but I think he played well tonight.

Next: How Andrew Shaw Turned into Alex DeBrincat

What are your thoughts on the game tonight?