Ward makes 30 saves, Blackhawks defeat Predators

CHICAGO -- Cam Ward made 30 saves for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 win against the Nashville Predators at United Center on Tuesday.

Ward played after the Blackhawks put No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford on injured reserve Monday with a concussion.
"Yeah, I felt confident," Ward said. "But I think that confidence grows with the team and the way that they were playing in front of me. You see guys battling like they were tonight, and it makes you … you don't want to let your teammates down. It was nice to come out with a big win, and hopefully this is something that we can build on."
WATCH: [All Predators vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Gustav Forsling and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago (11-19-6), which won for the second time in 12 games.
Kevin Fiala scored for the Predators (22-11-2), who were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at the Ottawa Senators on Monday. Pekka Rinne made 34 saves.
Nashville has lost eight straight games on the road.
"I feel like every game is a little different, but obviously we have to defend well in front of [Rinne] and (backup goalie) [Juuse Saros]," Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. "I think the first (few) games of the season we did that.
"Like I said before, we got to attack the game. Obviously, you have to play a smart game on the road. You have to make good puck decisions, and then when there's a chance, you have to go and attack the game."
Fiala gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the first period, scoring with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
Forsling tied it 1-1 at 15:22 of the second period by retrieving his blocked pass and scoring with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

"We always want to score, but I think the most important thing is not to get scored on, and we did a good job at that too," Forsling said.
Gustafsson scored on the power play 1:54 later to make it 2-1. After taking a pass from Patrick Kane, his shot from the blue line deflected off Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis' left arm and into the net at 17:16.
"I think [Kane] took it down on the wall," Gustafson said. "Just trying to be open on the blue line. Just trying to take it as quick as I can to the middle. Saw the lane, shot it, and saw it go in."
Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger left the game at 16:31 of the second period after he skated into Predators forward Ryan Hartman's elbow. Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton said Kruger has a concussion and will not travel for games at the Dallas Stars on Thursday and at the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
"I knew someone was coming," Hartman said of the play. "I had the puck and, you know, I was skating backwards trying to brace for a hit, I launched [the puck]. It's a tough play.
"I hope he's all right. It didn't look good, but I asked a couple of guys if he was all right, I guess he just had a few stitches. But I hope there's nothing too serious. I was just trying to brace for impact, it was unfortunate that it resulted in that."
Predators forward Colton Sissons was helped to the locker room at 14:16 of the third period after catching his skate against the boards and rolling his right ankle.

They said it

"Better effort? Yes. Energy? No. I don't feel like we had a lot of energy. … We didn't have any pop to our game, and they scored two goals, and that's the difference."-- Predators coach Peter Laviolette comparing the first and second games of the back-to-back

"We think he got the short end of the stick as far as team performance and he comes in and takes the brunt of it. Really nice for him to come in and play as well as he did. Thought he was really good. So happy for him." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton on Cam Ward's performance after allowing five goals on 30 shots in a 7-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday after Corey Crawford was injured

Need to know

Toews, who had an assist on Gustafsson's goal, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past four games. … Kane, who had a game-high seven shots on goal, has had at least one point in seven of the past eight games. He has two goals and seven assists in that span.

What's next

Predators: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSP, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: At the Dallas Stars on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)