It was quite the game tonight in Music City. The Stanley Cup defending champion Chicago Blackhawks came into Nashville for the last game of the series. Nashville had owned Chicago for most of the season series, winning all but 1 of the previous meetings. With the Preds win tonight Nashville, they took 4 of the 5 games in the series.
This game didn't mean much for either team. Chicago rested stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in preperation for the playoffs. Nashville is out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. That didn't stop this game between two former Central Division rivals from being a thriller. Chicago scored first, and when scoring first coming into this game the Blackhawks had only lost 1 game in regulation. That would change tonight.
Nashville scored 7 goals for the second time against the Blackhawks this season, previously coming on a 7-2 slamming earlier in the season. Nashville saw scoring from its' big names in Weber, Hornqvist, and Smith all contributing. Chicago controlled the pace early on in the game causing coach Barry Trotz to call a timeout only 7 minutes into the game. That helped to settle the Preds down and change the course of the game. Neither goaltender shined tonight in what was a crazy offensive explosion.
Chicago ends their regular season on a sour note, but it doesn't mean much as they attained much needed rest before their playoff series begins. Nashville got a win against a rival on what has been a nice stretch to end the otherwise disappointing season.