The Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators both come into Friday night’s Central Division game in Chicago on losing streaks.
The Blackhawks have not only lost three straight games after their 4-3 home overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night, but they also appeared to lose one of their core players to injury.
Jason Dickinson suffered a high ankle sprain in the second period and was helped off the ice while not putting any pressure on his left leg. Dickinson, a top penalty killer, faceoff man and team leader, left the training room in a walking boot after the contest.
“He’ll miss the next couple games, then we’ll see where we’re at,” Chicago interim coach Anders Sorensen told reporters Thursday.
“That’s a guy you can’t just replace,” defenseman Alec Martinez said of the veteran center. “He’s reliable, he’s good in the circles, reliable defensively, can contribute at both ends of the rink.”
Dickinson has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 53 games this season.
Craig Smith returned after missing 11 games with a back injury. He has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 31 games this season.
The Blackhawks earned a point on Wednesday by rallying from a 3-1 third-period deficit on goals by Ryan Donato (power play, 7:48 left in regulation) and Martinez (3:44 remaining).
But Zach Hyman’s power-play goal 1:36 into OT sent the Blackhawks to a tough defeat.
Goalie Arvid Soderblom was spectacular in the loss with 34 saves.
“It’s definitely tough,” Donato said. “(Soderblom) played a heck of a game, and he deserved better, but the fact that we put ourselves in that position is on us, right? I mean, you can look at the bright side, say ‘Yeah, we battled back.’ But if we did that without letting them have their chances and played that way and played desperate, you know, maybe could have gone a different way.”
Nashville has lost five in a row after a 5-2 home defeat to the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
“Probably the last two games (they lost 3-0 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday) have been as disappointed as I’ve been with our group,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I understood tonight was a hard night. It’s four in six (nights) with travel and back-to-backs, but at the end of the day, with where we’re at, it’s a little disappointing with how we played.”
After Nashville tied the game at 2 on Jonathan Marchessault’s goal less than a minute into the third period, Ottawa scored three times.
“I feel like we get some momentum, and then little mistakes kill us,” forward Ryan O’Reilly said. “Two of their goals were mistakes that I kind of made defensively, lost coverage on both of them. As a guy that’s supposed to be a two-way center, that’s kind of garbage.”
In the Central, Nashville is seventh and Chicago is last.
Connor Bedard is the Blackhawks’ leading point producer with 46 (15 goals, 31 assists) in 53 games but is minus-23. Filip Forsberg leads Nashville with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 52 games.
The Predators on Tuesday waived forward Vinnie Hinostroza, who was claimed by the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. Nashville recalled forward Joakim Kemell from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
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