After throttling one Central Division rival, the Chicago Blackhawks look to repeat the feat on Monday, when they host the Nashville Predators. Brandon Saad collected two goals and an assist and captain Jonathan Toews netted a tally and set up two others as the Blackhawks cruised to a 7-1 triumph over Detroit on Sunday. The lopsided victory improved Chicago's mark to 5-5-0 over its last 10 contests following its NHL-record 24-game point streak to start the season.
The Predators were among the victims during the Blackhawks' impressive stretch to start the season as they were blanked 3-0 on Feb. 10. Nashville also was shut out in its last trip to the ice, dropping a 1-0 overtime decision to Colorado on Saturday. Pekka Rinne turned aside 23 shots for the Predators, who fell for the 14th time in 19 games on the road (5-11-3).
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Nashville), CSN (Chicago)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (14-14-7): Mike Fisher, who sat out Saturday's contest with an upper-body injury, is riding an eight-game point streak. Fisher, who is questionable for Monday's tilt, has recorded five goals and four assists during the stretch. Paul Gaustad returned to action and logged just over 17 1/2 minutes of ice time after missing eight straight games with an upper-body injury.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (26-5-3): After blasting its rival, Chicago may get a boost with the potential returns of Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. The two forwards have been sidelined with upper-body injuries. Corey Crawford turned aside 33 shots on Sunday, but his bid for his eighth career shutout was spoiled by Cory Emmerton with 33 seconds remaining in the third period. Crawford stopped all 17 shots he faced in his previous meeting with Nashville.
OVERTIME
1. If Crawford takes a seat, G Ray Emery will vie for his first career win against Nashville. Emery has stopped just 36-of-48 shots and posted an 0-2-0 mark in four appearances versus the Predators.
2. Nashville, which won all three contests in April last season, is 8-2-1 in the month over the last three campaigns.
3. Chicago RW Patrick Kane saw his eight-game point streak come to an end on Sunday. Kane, who scored in the last meeting with the Predators, has 28 points in 32 career games against the franchise.