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Schedule/TV (All times ET; * — if necessary)
Blackhawks lead series 3-2
April 15: Blackhawks 4, Predators 3 2OT April 17, Predators 6, Blackhawks 2 April 19, Blackhawks 4, Predators 2 April 21, Blackhawks 4, Predators 3 OT April 23, Predators 5, Blackhawks 2 April 25, at Chicago, 8 p.m. TV: NBC, SN, TVA2 *April 27, at Nashville, TBD
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Season series: 3-1 Blackhawks
Injuries: Predators defensemen Shea Weber (lower body), Roman Josi (lower body) and Cody Franson (upper body) and forward Mike Fisher (lower body) all sat out Nashville’s regular-season in Dallas. Fisher and Franson didn’t practice Friday, and Fisher missed Thursday’s loss to the Wild.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane is practicing for the first time since breaking his collarbone on Feb. 24. If the Blackhawks get him back, it will be a big boost to the offense. Chicago’s Daniel Carcillo, Kimmo Timonen and Brad Richards are all nursing minor upper-body ailments.
Key players: If the Predators can get past the playoff-hardened Blackhawks, it may just be a result of their excellent scoring defensemen. Weber and Josi are perhaps the best scoring tandem on defense in the league, combining for 30 goals and 100 points this season. If the Blackhawks can get Kane back, it will take some of the pressure off center Jonathan Toews, who led Chicago with 28 goals and 66 points. Kane was leading the league with 64 points at the time of his injury.
Goalie matchup: Pekka Rinne is a huge reason Nashville had 104 points this season. The Finnish goaltender tied for second with 41 wins to go with a 2.18 goals-against-average. Corey Crawford was also among the league leaders with a GAA of 2.27 and a save percentage of .924.
Prediction: Blackhawks in 7
