Nashville Predators: Three Positives from Win over Chicago Blackhawks

3. Goaltending Shines as Usual 

It is almost to the point where we should find other things to write about, because this one just seems automatic. Most, if not all, times that the Predators win, Juuse Saros is at the top of his game, and he was against the Blackhawks holding them to two goals and notching 37 saves.

As the game went on, the Blackhawks got more and more chances, and it felt like many of their second period shots would have been buried or at least tougher to save if they were taken by a better team.

Although both of their goals were scored off of deflections, with the second one being especially chaotic, they had a number of looks in the second period that either flat out missed or good looks taken away by Saros.

In the third period, while the Predators had several good looks of their own, they allowed several point-blank chances to the Blackhawks, most of which came off of counter attacks. It is a reoccurring issue for the team, but Saros bailed them out of trouble and helped preserve the win.

It was already known, but games like this make it especially clear that Saros’ early season struggles were a fluke. No matter how risky of a strategy it is, the Predators are going to depend on Saros to win games, and this one showed why.