RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Predators, 5-2

The Blackhawks attempted to stage their fourth multi-goal comeback in the last 19 days, but could not overcome a 3-0 hole to the Predators, falling 5-2 - with a pair of late empty-netters from Nashville - at the United Center on Thursday night.

CHI 2, NSH 5
WRITTEN
Full Box Score
VIDEO
HIGHLIGHTS: CHI 2, NSH 5
RAW: Colliton on Loss to NSH
RAW: Toews on Loss to NSH
RAW: DeBrincat on Slow Start
GALLERY
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Predators
PODCAST
INSIDER: Incredible Kane, Burish 'One More Shift'
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Dominik Kubalik scored a goal for the third straight game and now has points in four straight with 11 total (6G, 5A) in his last 10 games.
UP NEXT: The Blackhawks close out a four-game homestand on Saturday as the Anaheim Ducks visit the United Center (
TICKETS
).

GAME RECAP

The visitors got on the board early and often in the opening period, striking first at the 3:16 mark. Roman Josi weaved his way through the slot and fired a wrister on goal that deflected off the leg of Viktor Arvidsson and in for a 1-0 Predators lead.
Colin Blackwell scored his first NHL goal at 8:22 of the opening period as Yakov Trenin won a puck back along the goal line and found the trailing Blackwell on the doorstep for a 2-0 lead.
Nashville made it 3-0 as Matt Duchene scored his 10th of the season at 16:55 of the first. Mattias Ekholm intercepted a pass at the Blackhawks blue line and quickly found Duchene lurking behind Chicago's defensemen, where the center put a deke on Crawford and slid a shot home.
The Blackhawks got on the board in the middle frame as Kubalik notched his 14th goal of the season, two off the rookie scoring lead. Jonathan Toews had the puck poke-checked off his stick in a 2-on-2 rush, but the trailer Kubalik picked it up in stride and beat Pekka Rinne with a wrister to cut the Predators' lead to 3-1 at 6:34.

Alex DeBrincat pulled Chicago within a goal at 5:32 of the third on the power play, taking a feed from Toews in the slot, putting a deke to his right before going left and roofing a backhander past Rinne to make it 3-2. Patrick Kane picked up a secondary assist on the goal for his 994th career point.

Nashville added a pair of empty-netters at 19:23 and 19:19:38 of the period as Nick Bonino banked a shot from his own end off the boards and into the open goal for a 4-2 lead, and then Rinne fired a puck from his own goal line the full length of the ice into the empty cage and the 5-2 win.