Bruins vs Red Wings

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks lost four straight games to end the regular season, but they didn't look or sound like a team in a funk heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs at practice Monday.

Perhaps that was because it was right wing Patrick Kane's first full-contact practice since Feb. 24, when he fractured his left clavicle against the Florida Panthers.

The Blackhawks were a confident group, even several hours before they learned that Kane has been cleared to return for Game 1 of their Western Conference First Round series against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday.

"It was a good day today," said veteran center Brad Richards, who will play in Game 1 after missing the final three games with an upper-body injury. "Everybody was chatting, and it was loud out there, and the pace was probably the best pace we've had in a while.

"No matter how beat up you are or how sore you are, this time of year, players that play 82 games, you get through it and there's just a different level of energy for some reason that becomes available to the body. It's amazing what your mind can do with just excitement and a new beginning."

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane has been cleared to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Nashville Predators, the Blackhawks announced.

Kane, who sustained a fractured left collarbone Feb. 24 against the Florida Panthers, was a full participant in practice Monday. It was the first time since his surgery Feb. 25 that he practiced without wearing a white, non-contact jersey.

“Patrick has been working extremely diligently with his rehabilitation and has recently returned to full-contact practice without any difficulty," Blackhawks team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement. "After discussions with Patrick and the team, and examining Patrick today, we collectively feel it is appropriate, with minimal risk, for him to return to full participation.”

Kane didn't take any full hits in practice Monday. He seemed unsure afterward whether he would be able to join the rest of the Blackhawks for their first game of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports, SN360, CSN-CH, FS-TN).

"I'm not really sure," Kane said. "We're not at that point yet. That's something that has to be discussed with a lot of different people internally, and ultimately at the end I have to feel like I can play and feel good out there. I have to feel safe too. That's probably one of the most important things right now."

The Nashville Predators entered the 2014-15 season with hopes of finding a way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify in back-to-back years.

They entered with a new coach, Peter Laviolette, who is the second in Predators history. Barry Trotz spent the first 15 years of their existence behind the bench. Armed with an ability to quickly turn things around, Laviolette seemed to be the perfect hire by general manager David Poile.

Just like Laviolette did in his first seasons with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers, he quickly got his team back on track. Laviolette, who coached the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, has done such an impressive job his name has been mentioned as a Jack Adams Award candidate as the NHL's top coach.

The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping history will repeat itself five years later.

The run to the Stanley Cup in 2010 started with a six-game series against the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Nashville is again in Chicago's way to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only this time the Predators have home-ice advantage.

Nashville is back in the playoffs under first-year coach Peter Laviolette after failing to qualify in their final two seasons with Barry Trotz, the only coach in Predators history until Laviolette came aboard.

Chicago is in the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season under coach Joel Quenneville. The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup twice (2010, 2013) and reached the Western Conference Finals another two times (2009, 2014).

NASHVILLE -- Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber was not a happy man at the end of the 2013-14 regular season.

His team had just missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career, and the only NHL coach he'd ever known, Barry Trotz, was fired after the season.

"We've got to get back to the postseason," Weber said. "Two years in a row is unacceptable. We know that. We're not an expansion franchise anymore."

Weber has led the Predators back to the playoffs this season and is looking to make a deeper run toward the Stanley Cup than ever before. He's the leader of one of the deepest defense corps in the NHL and believes that depth can be an advantage in the postseason.

The Chicago Blackhawks check all the boxes required to be a championship team, which is exactly why the city should plan to keep the Magnificent Mile parade route open for an afternoon in June.

Do the Blackhawks have experience? Yes they do.

The Blackhawks have 17 players with a combined 25 Stanley Cup championship rings, including two each for Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Bryan Bickell, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

In addition, Kimmo Timonen and Antoine Vermette have played in the Stanley Cup Final for other teams. Brad Richards won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and played in the Final last season with the New York Rangers.

CHICAGO -- Center Antoine Vermette was one of the top players available at the NHL Trade Deadline, but his addition to the Chicago Blackhawks hasn't provided much of a boost.

The hope, for Vermette and the Blackhawks, is that he becomes a bigger difference-maker in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Work in progress," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said when asked about Vermette recently. "Scoring a goal might help him be more confident with the puck. He's improving as far as knowing the familiarity of the routes and where [his] linemates are. That’s what we're looking for, [and] maybe offensively get a goal, and be a little more confident in the puck area."

The Nashville Predators were the best team in the NHL when they acquired defenseman Cody Franson from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 15.

Since then, they've stumbled, losing out on the Central Division to the St. Louis Blues, but Franson's play could go a long way in determining whether or not Nashville makes it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It took Franson a few games to get up to speed with the system that the Predators run. After 24 games with his new team, Franson has figured out his role, and the way he's expected to play.