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Blackhawks open home slate searching for win

Oct 13, 2008 - 1:22 PM Nashville (1-1-0) at Chicago (0-2-0), 8:30 p.m. EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- After dropping their first two games on the road, the Chicago Blackhawks will try and get into the win column on Monday in their home opener against the Nashville Predators.

Chicago was defeated, 4-2, in its season opener at the New York Rangers on Friday and lost by the same score at the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The Blackhawks have not dropped the first three games of the season since the 1997-98 campaign when they began 0-7-0.

A young team that features rising stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Chicago is hoping one of its veteran goaltenders will step forward to help a club that allowed the fourth-most goals in the Western Conference last season.

It has not started out well as free agent acquisition Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin each allowed four tallies in their respective starts.

The Predators dropped their season opener at the St. Louis Blues but bounced back to defeat the Dallas Stars, 3-1, on Saturday.

Captain Jason Arnott, who has recorded nine straight 20-goal seasons, has two tallies and two assists through the first couple games.

Chicago went 5-1-2 against its Central Division rival last season.