The Chicago Blackhawks returned to NHL action Thursday night after a 22-day Olympic break, but their much-anticipated reset against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena ended in disappointment. Despite holding a 2-1 lead early in the third period, the Blackhawks surrendered three unanswered goals and fell 4-2, continuing a troubling stretch that has seen them lose 10 of their last 13 games dating back to January 12, 2026. With only 24 games left in the regular season, Chicago’s record now stands at 22-27-9, and the margin for error is shrinking fast.
Entering the matchup, the Blackhawks had used the Olympic hiatus to regroup. While Teuvo Teravainen was the lone Olympic participant from the roster, the rest of the squad had six full practice sessions—ample time, one would think, to shake off the rust and tighten up their game. Yet, as the puck dropped in Nashville, old habits resurfaced: errant passes, costly giveaways, and a persistent inability to finish on scoring chances. "I thought the first half of the game, we kind of hurt ourselves with our puck play," head coach Jeff Blashill said. "I just thought there wasn’t probably enough poise, not enough support. I thought as it went along it got better and then we got better."
The opening period offered the Blackhawks a golden opportunity to seize momentum. Nashville’s Nick Perbix and Erik Haula each committed high-sticking infractions within the first six minutes—Haula’s resulting in a double minor after Ryan Donato was cut on the nose. That meant six minutes of power-play time for Chicago, but the advantage yielded little more than frustration. The Hawks failed to generate any dangerous chances, and their struggles on the man advantage continued, finishing the game just 1-for-6 on the power play. "One-for-5 is 20%, you’d like for it to be 2-for-5, but it’s not 0-for-5, it’s not always going to look perfect," Blashill conceded. "(Their) penalty kill had something to do with it. It’s something we’re going to continue trying to improve on."
Instead, it was the Predators who capitalized on a Chicago mistake to open the scoring. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov, playing his first game back after a stint in the team’s individual training program, was pressured into a turnover in the defensive zone. The puck found Filip Forsberg, who wasted no time rifling a shot past Spencer Knight at 13:50 of the first period. "The guy’s all over him, he probably needs to eat it, but he probably needs better support," Blashill said of Levshunov’s miscue. "We took off up the ice like there was no pressure, but there was actually tons of pressure." To his credit, Levshunov improved as the game progressed, even breaking up a dangerous 2-on-1 short-handed chance in the third period.
Despite trailing 1-0 after the opening frame, the Blackhawks showed flashes of life. Connor Bedard, the team’s dynamic 20-year-old center, was electric from the opening faceoff. Early in the second period, Bedard finally broke through. Ryan Greene worked the puck off the boards and found Bedard in the slot, where the young star snapped a shot off the post and in at 4:13—his 24th goal of the season and a new career high. "I thought (André Burakovsky) and (Greene) were unreal tonight, like they have been all year and making it real easy for me," Bedard said. "I think they set me up for five or six Grade A’s. That’s on me to put one more of those in and maybe it’s a different game." Bedard finished the night with five shots on goal and was a constant threat.
The Blackhawks’ best stretch came early in the third period. On another power play, Bedard slalomed through three Predators penalty killers for a high-danger chance, only to be denied by Nashville netminder Justus Annunen. Moments later, Teravainen deflected Sam Rinzel’s point shot, and Tyler Bertuzzi pounced on the rebound to score his team-leading 26th goal of the season at 3:16, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead. The bench erupted, and for a brief moment, it looked like the Hawks might finally change their fortunes.
But the lead evaporated quickly. Captain Nick Foligno took an interference penalty at 5:17, sending the Predators to their first power play of the night. With just five seconds left on the man advantage, Matthew Wood blasted a shot past Knight to tie the game at 2-2 at 7:12. The momentum had shifted, and the Predators pressed their advantage. "We’ve got to find a way to win the game, that’s part of this process of growing, (when) you get the lead, you got to find a way to kill the penalty," Blashill reflected. "It’s 2-2 and then we kind of let the third one in there, (so we’ve) got to find a way to win that game."
Chicago had its chances down the stretch, including a prime slot opportunity for Frank Nazar on a late power play, but couldn’t solve Annunen again. The Predators, by contrast, were clinical. With just over three minutes remaining, Roman Josi drove wide and fed Ryan O’Reilly in front, who redirected the puck between Knight’s pads to give Nashville a 3-2 lead at 16:44. As the Blackhawks scrambled to pull their goalie for an extra attacker, a costly turnover by Nazar gifted Steven Stamkos an empty-net goal, sealing the 4-2 win for the home side.
Annunen, starting in place of Juuse Saros, was outstanding, stopping 21 of 23 shots and improving his career record against Chicago to 4-0-0 with a .961 save percentage. Spencer Knight finished with 22 saves for the Blackhawks, but the effort wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s mistakes and missed opportunities.
The loss was especially painful given the implications for the Western Conference playoff race. As Bedard pointed out, “That’s the team we’re probably closest to in our division to catch, I think. To lose to them, obviously it’s a four-point game, and that’s tough.” The Blackhawks, still clinging to hopes of a late-season surge, know they can’t afford many more nights like this if they want to keep their postseason dreams alive.
There were, at least, some positives to take away. Bedard’s play continues to inspire confidence, and the team showed stretches of improved puck management after a shaky start. Levshunov, despite his early blunder, settled in as the game wore on. Still, the message from the locker room was clear: the Blackhawks must learn to close out games and capitalize on their chances, especially on the power play.
As the final horn sounded in Nashville, the Blackhawks were left to reflect on what might have been. They’ll look to regroup quickly as their four-game road trip continues Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche. With the season’s clock ticking down, every game—and every point—now matters more than ever.