Nashville Predators taking on Chicago in Game 2 on Saturday

Statistically the Blackhawks and Predators were much closer than their gap in the points showed.

The Blackhawks, who finished with a Western Conference-best 109 points this year, took the last four of their five meetings with the Predators during the regular season.

If needed, Game 5 will be played in Chicago on April 22. Where are you hiding, Patrick Kane?

Obviously, I am not Joel Quenneville and I have no say in what will happen, but this is what would make the most sense.

Nobody in town will argue. If you don't have you're analytics decoder ring, that means the team and some of it's most key components shine in areas that are most important during the playoffs. It's the first time in over a decade they've been shut out at home in the postseason. Those guys won't beat anybody that way.

But it can all go away quickly - and no team knows that better than these Predators. With veteran leadership and a history of overcoming early playoff deficits, the Chicago Blackhawks are far from an early exit from the postseason.

Inexplicable. Inexcusable. Embarrassing. All the words apply.

As mentioned, Nashville might run into problems with the way they play in the defensive zone, but until their cloister can be penetrated, I'm not sure there is much impetus to change. "It's what we aren't".

They've gone 156 minutes, 40 seconds without a goal in playoff play, dating back to Game 7 in St. Louis last spring. A goal differential (goals scored minus goals allowed) of negative six will not win a championship any time soon. It's fantastic how quiet 22,175 fans can be when they're all trying to figure out what just happened. The upstart Oilers proved they last night they might not be ready for the spotlight; the Sharks and the Ducks are already battered and banged up; the Wild and Blues have had extended down periods (although for Minnesota that may have just been bad luck).

Jonathan Toews hasn't scored a playoff goal in 11 games. But no longer content to sit back on a slim lead, the Predators went for the kill in the second period, getting goals from Harry Zolnierczyk and Colton Sissons.

Will Ryan Hartman get a similar punishment as Matt Calvert for this stick work on Craig Smith? That Pekka Rinne has shut the Blackhawks out in both of those games is almost unimaginable. The fabulous Finn again rose to the occasion, making 30 saves - and even outscoring the Hawks with two assists.

"We all probably thought the series would be in a different place right now", Kane said.

The Hawks didn't look like themselves offensively and especially not like the teams that have taken the ice at the United Center in playoffs past. John Hayden found himself out of the lineup after Game 1.

But someone forgot to inform the Hawks for the first 20 minutes.

Predictably, Quenneville juggled his line combinations.

I like that the Predators got the only goal they needed from their top line of Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen, who earned an assist on Arvidsson's victor.

The Blackhawks almost got on the board about 30 seconds later, but captain Jonathan Toews shot it off the right post.