Blackhawks 3, Predators 0
Corey Crawford turned aside all 31 shots he faced to make Tomas Kopecky's first-period goal stand up as the visiting Chicago Blackhawks welcomed back coach Joel Quenneville with a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Sidelined for over one week due to gastrointestinal bleeding that was caused by a small ulcer, the 52-year-old Quenneville was back behind the bench after the team won three of four under assistant Mike Haviland.
Patrick Sharp collected a goal and an assist, Marian Hossa also tallied and captain Jonathan Toews was credited with his 15th assist in 12 contests for Chicago (32-23-6).
Crawford was flawless on Thursday en route to securing his third shutout of the season and fourth career. The 26-year-old Montreal native stopped 10 shots in the first period, nine in the second and 12 in the third for his fifth win in seven contests (5-1-1).
Kopecky opened the scoring with 2:48 remaining in the first period by wiring a shot from the slot past Pekka Rinne for his 11th of the season. Hossa doubled the advantage by converting a breakaway at 2:35 of the third period with his 14th of the campaign, and Sharp added his 32nd of the season with an empty-net goal.
Nashville (31-22-8), which has scored just 24 goals in its last 13 games, dropped its third in a row and fourth in five contests (1-3-1).
Rinne finished with 22 saves to fall to 21-17-6 on the season.