Blackhawks visit Predators, go for 12th win in row

NASHVILLE -- The Chicago Blackhawks will try to break a franchise record when they go for their 12th consecutive win Tuesday against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
The Blackhawks' 11 straight wins tied a franchise record set in the 2012-13 season. They have won five consecutive games on the road and have allowed two or fewer goals in four consecutive games. Patrick Kane.

"It's a great accomplishment," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You look at the tradition and the history of the team and what they've accomplished over certain years and being a part of it before was special. Tonight, we've got a chance to do something real special."
Chicago has taken over the top spot in the Central Division during the streak and has gotten good goaltending to go along with its high-powered offense. The Blackhawks feel they're playing well right now but don't want to be complacent with their game.
"I don't know if we thought about it too much up until you hear if you win 11 in a row that ties the franchise record, and now we have a chance to break it tonight, which would be nice," Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. "It's been a good run. I think we've had a lot of contributions across the board, a lot of different players that have stepped up throughout this streak. By no means do I think we're satisfied with where we're at. I think we're happy we're trending in the right direction here, but we want to keep getting better as a team too."
Nashville will start goaltender Pekka Rinne against Chicago after he backed up Carter Hutton in a 3-0 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Hutton made 29 saves. Rinne is 1-4-1 in his past six starts.
Here are the projected lineups:
BLACKHAWKS
Andrew Shaw - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Artemi Panarin - Artem Anisimov - Patrick Kane
Andrew Desjardins - Phillip Danault - Teuvo Teravainen
Richard Panik - Dennis Rasmussen - Ryan Garbutt
Duncan Keith - Niklas Hjalmarsson
Erik Gustafsson - Brent Seabrook
Trevor Van Riemsdyk - Michal Rozsival
Corey Crawford
Scott Darling
Scratched: Rob Scuderi, Brandon Mashinter
Injured: Marcus Kruger (fractured left wrist)
PREDATORS
Kevin Fiala - Ryan Johansen - James Neal
Filip Forsberg - Mike Ribeiro - Calle Jarnkrok
Eric Nystrom - Mike Fisher - Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki - Paul Gaustad - Cody Bass
Roman Josi - Shea Weber
Mattias Ekholm - Ryan Ellis
Anthony Bitetto - Barret Jackman
Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Austin Watson, Petter Granberg
Injured: Colin Wilson (lower body), Gabriel Bourque (upper body)
Status report: Toews and Hossa missed the morning skate but will play. … Crawford will start for the Blackhawks. … Wilson participated in practice Monday but is not expected to return to the lineup.
Who's hot: Kane has four goals and two assists in his past two games and leads the NHL with 69 points. … Johansen has seven points in five games with the Predators.