Blackhawks vs. Predators: Chicago needs something from Patrick Kane in Game 3

The Chicago Blackhawks are perplexing.

Chicago coasted into the Stanley Cup playoffs after a terrific spring carried them to the best record in the Western Conference. No clue where those guys went.

The Predators come home for Game 3 up 2-0 on a team most figured would sail through to the Stanley Cup final once again. Chicago hasn’t scored a single goal all series and got run out of their own building in a 5-0 loss in Game 2 that had Blackhawks fans booing them.

So, yeah. Game 3 on Monday is unfamiliar territory.

Pekka Rinne is at his best. Dismissed as a past-his-prime goalie after two years of regression, this is the Pekka Rinne who became the face of Barry Trotz’s defense-first Predators for so many years. Through two games, Rinne hasn’t allowed a single ’Hawks goal on 59 shots. A lot of credit goes to the defenders in front of him, but Rinne is the glue holding it together.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The scoring drought for Chicago’s two stars is quite remarkable. Toews hasn’t scored since Game 4 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s 11 playoff games without a goal for a guy considered one of the best playoff performers in recent NHL history.

Kane hasn’t fared much better. In his last 17 playoff games (dating back to Game 6 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals), Kane has three goals. Is it any wonder the Blackhawks haven’t found much success in the playoffs in the last two seasons?

See above? If Kane and Toews don’t start leading the way for Chicago, it’s hard to see them mounting a comeback against the Predators. The good news is both of them led the team on the road in Nashville this season, combining for five goals and seven points in three games.

The Blackhawks will finally get some goals past Pekka Rinne and start mounting another one of their series comebacks. It’s familiar territory, after all. It won’t be easy; Nashville’s fans are among the rowdiest in the NHL come playoff time. But Chicago finds a way. Blackhawks take Game 3.