Pluses, minuses for Predators-Blackhawks

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Hockey game in his Weekes on the Web blog.

This week on Wednesday Night Hockey, it's a matchup of Central Division rivals.
The Chicago Blackhawks have lost three of four and are in danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season. The Nashville Predators are trending in the other direction with points in each of their past five games (4-0-1).
The Predators (26-15-3) play the Blackhawks (16-22-7) at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP).
Here's my breakdown of the game:

Predators

Pluses: They finally are healthy, with defenseman P.K. Subban and forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg back in the lineup. Those are three important players who were missing for a significant time. The offense definitely is improved with them back.
Goalies Pekka Rinne (16-10-2, 2.23 goals-against average, .921 save percentage) and Juuse Saros (10-5-1, 2.71 GAA, .907 save percentage) have been great. Rinne won the Vezina Trophy last season, and Saros has allowed one goal or fewer in each of his past three starts.
They have gotten excellent production from their defensemen. We all know about Subban, and Roman Josi (seven goals, 23 assists) and Mattias Ekholm (five goals, 25 assists) are tied for second on the Predators among all skaters in scoring with 30 points.
Minuses: The Predators have been inconsistent on the road. They went 8-0-0 to start season before losing 10 straight (0-8-2). However they're 3-0-1 in their past four away from home.
They're a little too reliant on their top two lines. It doesn't often show because of how much the defense contributes offensively, but it would be nice if the likes of Colton Sissons (eight goals), Rocco Grimaldi (three goals) and Frederick Gaudreau (three goals) scored more.

Blackhawks

Pluses: Patrick Kane quietly has 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists), including multipoint games in five of his past nine games. He's the engine of the team and never stops producing even when the team isn't doing well. Kane has 17 more points than anyone else on the Blackhawks (Jonathan Toews, 39).
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson really has been impressive. Not only is he averaging 22:07 of ice time per game, but he has 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists), which ranks fourth on the Blackhawks. He's looked more comfortable on offense and also produced on the power play with seven points.
Chicago is 6-3-1 in its past 10 games and starting to play better under coach Jeremy Colliton. They lost to the Boston Bruins 4-2 at Notre Dame Stadium in the 2019 NHL Winter Classic but were competitive and have been in each of their recent losses.
Minuses: They've had two eight-game losing streaks this season, which is very hard to recover from. That's 16 losses and a lot of points left on the table, which could be costly at the end of the season. Chicago has been inconsistent throughout the season; the Blackhawks have won more than two straight games once, and that's not a recipe for success.
The Blackhawks aren't used to rebuilding, but that's what they're in the midst of right now after being so successful for so long. They were able to trade pieces and remain successful under the salary cap but now it's catching up with them. It also doesn't help that Corey Crawford can't stay healthy. When he is healthy, he's one of the top goalies in the League.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. How do the Predators defensemen fare, both offensively and defensively?
   2. With a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, can Nashville avoid a trap game?
   3. Divisional matchup filled with star power. It should be intense.