from Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times,

These weren’t the new-look Nashville Predators, the aggressive, offensively minded group that tries to score goals, not simply prevent them. These were the old-school Predators — diving in front of shots, sliding in front of shots, stepping in front of shots. Clogging the neutral zone. Steering oncoming forwards out wide and then sagging in the middle.

For much of the final two periods Thursday night, the Predators looked like they were on an extended penalty-kill, holding on for dear life as the Blackhawks woke up from a sleepy first period.

It’s not pretty. And it might not be sustainable. But it worked in Game 1 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series at the United Center, mostly because Pekka Rinne went old-school, too, looking like his former All-Star self in a 1-0 shutout of the Hawks.

It was an emphatic reminder that, against the Predators, the first goal is even more important than usual.

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