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Legwand, Rinne help Predators top Blackhawks

Jan 11, 2009 - 5:37 AM By Jim Diamond PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- David Legwand and Pekka Rinne helped alleviate some of the local sports fans' disappointment created earlier in the day.

Legwand netted a pair of goals and Rinne made 34 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

All-Star defenseman Shea Weber and Radek Bonk also scored and blue-liner Ryan Suter and rookie Joel Ward recorded two assists apiece for the Predators, who have won back-to-back games for the first time in over a month.

"We've played really well the last couple of games, and it is huge to get these two wins," Rinne said.

Cristobal Huet stopped 34 shots and Adam Burish tallied for the Blackhawks, who have lost four of their last six contests.

"The start was terrible. It wasn't very good at all," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Starts are important, and we've had two below-average starts the last two games. You can't win hockey games like that."

The starting time of the game was pushed back 30 minutes thanks to the NFL's Tennessee Titans, who suffered a heartbreaking 13-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff contest earlier in the day.

Legwand opened the scoring with 9:19 remaining in the first period.

From behind the net, captain Jason Arnott passed to Martin Erat in the left faceoff circle, where he directed the puck to Legwand in the low slot. Legwand's one-timer beat Huet to the glove side for a 1-0 edge.

"I've been trying to get to the net a lot, and they've been going in for me lately," Legwand said. "We need to string a few wins together here to get back in the race."

The Predators doubled their lead on a power-play goal by Weber with 3:14 left in the second period. Weber's slap shot from the right point sailed just underneath the crossbar on Huet's glove side.

"We had some traffic and I just wanted to make sure that I got the shot on net," Weber said.

Weber, who leads all NHL defensemen with 13 goals, now has 100 career points.

The Blackhawks halved the deficit at 6:11 of the third period, when Burish was credited with a goal after Predators defenseman Ville Koistinen's attempted clearing pass hit the right wing in front of the net and slid by Rinne.

Nashville regained its two-goal advantage with 7:57 remaining on a goal by Bonk, who carried the puck down the right wing, cut toward the net and beat Huet to the short side with a backhander.

"I think Radek Bonk was fantastic tonight," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "He got a big goal, he was good on draws and he was great defensively against (Jonathan) Toews' line. I thought Radek had a lot of impact on the game."

"I just have to play better and make bigger plays in situations when I have the opportunities," said Toews, Chicago's All-Star center. "We didn't get anything going again, and we have to be better all around. It's as simple as that."

Legwand's empty-netter with 39 seconds to go capped the scoring.