Blackhawks 2 - 7 Predators
Final
  for this game

Preds score seven goals in rout of Blackhawks

Nov 17, 2013 - 6:48 AM Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Craig Smith posted a goal and two assists as the Nashville Predators thrashed the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-2, at Bridgestone Arena.

Shea Weber, Matt Cullen and Patric Hornqvist each posted a goal and an assist for the Predators, who snapped a four-game slide. Marek Mazanec stopped 39 shots in the win.

"He's played well for us. We haven't given him support, offensively or defensively. Tonight he was great and it's good to see him get his first win," said Weber on Mazanec.

Brandon Pirri and Patrick Kane scored for the Blackhawks, who had won four straight. Nikolai Khabibulin gave up two goals on eight shots in the brief start, while Corey Crawford allowed five goals on 22 shots in relief.

"It's tough losing to those guys. I thought it was a rough game for us. I think when we scored that one in the third and they came back and scored right away on that shift that pretty much said it all for that night," said Crawford.

It was a season high in goals scored for Nashville, and a season high in goals allowed for Chicago.

Nashville scored at 7:28 of the first period when Cullen tipped in a rebound of a Smith shot on a 3-on-2 rush, and it was 2-0 less than a minute later on Nick Spaling's wrister from the right circle.

Hornqvist's power-play goal at 9:02 of the second period came off a deflection of a Roman Josi shot and Smith scored on a backhander with 1:42 to play in the stanza for a 4-0 lead.

Kane scored at 18:44 of the second thanks to his wrister that beat Mazanec for his 11th of the year, and Pirri's wrister at 6:14 of the third period cut Nashville's lead to 4-2.

The Predators, though, got one back 15 seconds later as a 2-on-1 break saw Gabriel Bourque pass it from the left side to the slot where Viktor Stalberg backhanded it home.

Mike Fisher's goal at 12:19 made it a four-goal game and Weber's power-play marker less than two minutes later capped the scoring.

Game Notes

Nashville continues its nine-game road trip in Detroit on Tuesday ... Chicago hosts San Jose on Sunday ... Chicago had won six straight against Nashville, including all five games last season ... Nashville went 2-for-5 on the power play, while Chicago was 0-for-4.






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