Shaw helps Blackhawks beat Predators 3-2 for 8th straight
CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Shaw scored two goals and the Chicago Blackhawks celebrated coach Joel Quenneville's contract extension Tuesday night with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators for their eighth consecutive victory.
Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which was without center Artem Anisimov due to an illness. Corey Crawford made 41 saves and Marian Hossa added two assists on his 37th birthday.
The Blackhawks closed out a perfect four-game homestand hours after they announced a three-year extension with Quenneville that runs through the 2019-20 season. Quenneville, the only active coach with three Stanley Cup titles, also moved into a tie with Al Arbour for second on the NHL list with his 782nd victory, trailing only Scotty Bowman (1,244).
Nashville has lost four in a row and six of seven, falling off the pace in the tough Central Division. Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg scored, and Pekka Rinne made 20 stops.
Forsberg swatted in a loose puck on a power play with 36.3 seconds left, getting the Predators within one. But the Blackhawks held on from there.
Chicago's winning streak is its longest since it won eight in a row from Nov. 26 to Dec. 11, 2014, according to STATS. It's also the longest active streak in the NHL.
The Predators outshot the Blackhawks 20-6 in the second, but Chicago had two of the three goals in the period.
Hossa threw his own rebound out front and Shaw sent it into a wide-open net for a 2-0 lead at 6:14. Seabrook and Patrick Kane had a perfect give-and-go with 6:42 left in the period, with the big defenseman driving a slap shot past Rinne for his seventh of the season.
Ribeiro had a quick response, stuffing one home from the side of the net just 18 seconds after Seabrook's goal, but Crawford kept the Predators at bay until the very end. Nashville went 1 for 5 on the power play.
NOTES: Chicago forward Richard Panik played in his first game with the Blackhawks since he was acquired in a trade with Toronto on Jan. 3. He wasn't supposed to play after just joining the team for the morning skate after resolving a visa issue, but was pressed into action with Anisimov out. "It's a really good team," Panik said. "I have to earn a spot, so going to do my best and hopefully it's going to work out for me." ... Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said there have been no setbacks for C Marcus Kruger, who had surgery last month to repair a dislocated left wrist. He could return for the end of the regular season or the start of the playoffs. ... The Predators scratched D Petter Granberg, LW Eric Nystrom and C Colin Wilson.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap