ONE GOAL III: Blackhawks Close Book on Predators in First Round

April is the cruelest month, and the Nashville Predators can attest to that, after coasting through the first half of the season as the best team in the National Hockey League, only to be overtaken by St. Louis in the final weeks of the campaign, necessitating a first-round matchup with the Blackhawks.

Nashville boss Peter Laviolette had an eager, skilled squad, headlined by rookie phenom Filip Forsberg, netminder Pekka Rinne and a boon of puck-moving talent on the blue line. A matchup against Joel Quenneville's experienced playoff juggernaut was almost guaranteed to produce a frenzied, vigorous series.

2015 REWIND

**REWIND**: Keith Caps Dominant Series with Winner

**REWIND**: Saad Avenges with Game 4 Equalizer

**REWIND**: Chicago Bounces Back in Game 3

**REWIND**: Rookie Darling Takes Center Stage

As in 2010, there was no easing into the postseason for Chicago against the Preds, who were young and fast and ferocious. Game 1 in Nashville began with a three-alarm fire, as the Predators fashioned three goals in the first period off a strong forecheck. After Scott Darling replaced Corey Crawford in net, the Blackhawks stirred to life, knotting the score before the end of the second.

With no time to let the nerves settle in, Darling stood firm in his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance -- a record-setting outing that lasted 67:44, including a heart-stopping pad save on Ryan Ellis midway through the third period that drew a roar of wonder and dismay from the golden sea of Nashville faithful. Duncan Keith's game-winner in double overtime made Darling's 42 saves count, capping off "one of the greatest relief performances you're going to see," according to Quenneville.

Nashville tied the series with a 6-2 wining Game 2, netting three insurance goals in 139 seconds during the final period. But the victory came at a big cost, as captain Shea Weber left the game with a lower-body injury, adding to the loss of veteran center Mike Fisher in Game 1.

In an effort to quell Nashville's speedy transition game, Quenneville made a couple of depth changes ahead of Game 3 in Chicago. Antoine Vermette and Andrew Desjardins slid back into the lineup, and the latter made an immediate impact, opening the scoring for the Blackhawks in a 4-2 win. Darling, getting the nod in net, made 35 saves in what he later described as "the loudest stadium I've ever been a part of in my life," comprising over 22,000 local well-wishers.

In a series that couldn't have been devised by a hundred scriptwriters, Game 4 was the most dramatic chapter yet. By the end, the two teams combined for 100 shots on goal and 183 shot attempts as the clock ticked over from Tuesday to Wednesday -- a marathon that was only briefly paused when the puck got lost in Rinne's gear during the second overtime. Shortly after midnight and a fifth intermission, Brent Seabrook's slapshot from the high slot found its way past a screened Rinne, inspiring Patrick Kane to try and lift him up, momentarily forgetting a physical difference of 4 inches and over 40 pounds.

Nashville would not go quietly into the offseason, however, and a Forsberg hat trick propelled the Preds to a 5-2 win in Game 5. That gave Chicago a chance to close out the series at the United Center, which they did, but not before one final plot twist.

Nashville dominated early and created leads of 2-0 and 3-1, leading to another goalie change -- this time, Crawford exchanging positions with Darling. The Blackhawks fought back once again, getting the game-tying goal from Kane with just 6 seconds left in the first period. Then Keith, in an echo of his Game 1 winner, slapped the puck past Rinne from the left point late in regulation to close the book on Nashville.

It might not have been the tidiest effort, with Chicago struggling on the penalty kill and displaying an out-of-character propensity for giving up goals in bunches. Even as Quenneville praised his stars for rising to the occasion in a tightly-contested series, he also recognized the need to improve: "We need to be better in all aspects of our game. We had a couple of bad starts -- can't always give up 3-1, 3-0 leads and come back and win two games in the series. Hopefully that's a lesson."