The Nashville Predators (20-20-4) ran into a historic performance in goal Tuesday night, falling to the Chicago Blackhawks (19-19-7) at home.
Blackhawks rookie goaltender Drew Commesso recorded a shutout in his first NHL victory.
Commesso stopped every shot he faced to become the fourth goaltender in Blackhawks franchise history to post a shutout in his first career win, joining Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, and Paul Goodman.
It was a 36-save shutout.
The Predators generated offensive-zone time and had some pressure throughout the night but were unable to convert against a goaltender who grew more confident as the game progressed.
Nashville created chances at five-on-five and around the net, but failed to find a breakthrough as Chicago played from ahead. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Predators had 4.38 expected goals.
“We came out in our first eight minutes or so, and I liked our game…and then we got really sloppy with the puck,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said postgame. “Our execution was fairly poor by our standards, and it didn't allow us to get to our game. We pushed a little bit at the end, but I think the whole game, I'm not sure if we thought it'd be a little bit easier than it was. Then we got frustrated with it and seemed to compound, which we haven't done that often. Regardless, we weren't sharp. They were the better team for most of the game.”
The Predators will finish the weekend back-to-back with the Washington Capitals on Sunday.