Blackhawks look to tighten defense on road trip

Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Winnipeg closed out the Blackhawks' home slate for the 2016 calendar, and now the team will embark on a three-game road trip that culminates in the 2017 Winter Classic on Jan. 2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
The first stop on their road trip, however, is Nashville, where they'll take on a Predators team that has experienced some ups and downs in December, posting a 4-5-3 record this month. They've dropped their last two, including a 3-2 overtime defeat to Minnesota on Tuesday, and sit in sixth place in the Central Division, two points out of a wild card spot in the West.
The two teams have faced off twice this season, with the Blackhawks dropping a 3-2 result in Nashville on Oct. 14 before returning home the next night to win 5-3.
Head Coach Joel Quenneville made just one switch to his forward lines on Thursday, sliding rookie Tyler Motte to the top line to play alongside Jonathan Toews and Ryan Hartman, while Vinnie Hinostroza replaces him on the fourth unit. But it's the defensive pairs that will likely be shaken up on Thursday after allowing 34 shots by the Jets.
"Probably one of our weakest areas tonight, whether it was defending or getting involved in the attack or making plays that keep possession," Quenneville said. "It wasn't a great night across the board."
Tuesday marked the fourth consecutive game and sixth time in the last seventh games that the team has allowed 30 or more shots on goal. Overall, the Blackhawks have averaged 31.1 shots allowed this season, compared to 29.1 shots for, a trend that Chicago certainly would like to reverse as the season approaches its halfway point.

DEEP BLUE
The Predators are missing star defenseman P.K. Subban, who has been sidelined since Dec. 17 with an upper-body injury; he did not practice with the team on Thursday, making his return unlikely to come against the Blackhawks. The rest of Nashville's blue line provides plenty to contend with, however, beginning with Roman Josi, who leads team defensemen with 19 points in 34 games this season. The 26-year-old is off the pace he set last season when he recorded a career-best 61 points, but his 104 shots on goal-currently sixth among NHL blueliners-show he's been sending more pucks on net than ever before. Josi has been playing alongside Ryan Ellis, forming a mobile, puck-handling duo that's more than willing to jump up into the play.
ART OF SCORING
Artem Anisimov returned to Chicago's lineup on Tuesday after missing three games with an upper-body injury, making an immediate impact as he netted the lone goal for his team. Number 15 on the season for No. 15 came off a nifty passing sequence in combination with linemates Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane, the latter finding him alone in front of Winnipeg's net with just the goaltender to beat. Panarin's assist extended his career-long point streak to eight games with his 14th point over that span. Anisimov shares second on the team in goals, one behind Marian Hossa, who was retroactively placed on IR on Tuesday but is hopeful for the Jan. 2 outdoor tilt.
TOP DOGS
Nashville historically has not produced top-heavy scoring, and this season is no different. James Neal leads the pack with 14 tallies after going almost all of October without lighting the lamp, but generally speaking, the 10th-ranked offense in the league has scored by committee, getting goals from the blue line and throughout a deep forward corps. Ryan Johansen, last season's prized acquisition, leads the team with 17 helpers and 24 points, while 23-year-old Viktor Arvidsson has been a breakout star, leading the team with 109 SOG and ranking second with 23 goals (9G, 14A). The two are joined on Nashville's top line by Filip Forsberg, who has underperformed relative to expectations coming into the season, but does have three goals over his last four games, giving him 20 points on the season.
NOTABLE ABSENCES
CHI:Marian Hossa (upper body)
NSH: P.K. Subban (upper body), Miika Salomaki (lower body), Anthony Bitetto (hand)
LINES

Hartman -- Toews -- Hinostroza
Panarin -- Anisimov -- Kane
Rasmussen -- Kruger -- Panik
Motte -- Kero -- Tootoo

Keith -- van Riemsdyk
Hjalmarsson -- Seabrook
Kempny -- Rozsival

Crawford
Darling