Donato’s 4 Points Help Blackhawks Beat Predators 6-2 – The Hockey Writers Chicago Blackhawks Latest News, Analysis & More

Ryan Donato’s 2024-25 season has been arguably the best of his career, and it got even better on Feb. 7 as the Chicago Blackhawks’ forward scored two goals and added two assists, earning the first four-point game of his career and helping pave the way for a 6-2 Blackhawks win over the Nashville Predators.

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Blackhawks’ forward Frank Nazar opened the scoring midway through the first period with his fourth of the season, but Colton Sissons quickly tied it up. Pat Maroon scored with five minutes to go in the opening frame to make it 2-1, and the Blackhawks never looked back.

Connor Bedard scored his 16th of the season to make it 3-1, and then Donato and Seth Jones scored to put the game out of reach to close the second period.

Donato added his second of the game and 18th of the season, a new career high for the 28-year-old. The Predators scored with a minute to go in the third, Tommy Novak’s 10th of the season, but the Blackhawks ended up with the 6-2 victory.

Petr Mrazek made 29 saves for the win, while Juuse Saros made 24 saves in a losing effort.

The Blackhawks came into Friday night’s game losing 16 of their last 20 contests. As for Nashville, they’ve now extended their losing streak to six straight.

The Blackhawks are now 17-31-6 with 40 points, last in the Central Division but no longer holding the worst record in the league – that would be the San Jose Sharks, who going into Feb. 7 had a 15-34-7 record with 37 points.

Meanwhile, the Predators are now 18-28-7 with 43 points, seventh in the Central Division and just three points ahead of Chicago.

The Blackhawks’ next game is Feb. 8 in Missouri against the St. Louis Blues, then the team is off for the next two weeks for the 4 Nations Face-Off. None of the players earned a roster spot among the four countries representing the tournament.

As for Nashville, their next game is at home on Feb. 8 against the Buffalo Sabres, then they’re off for the international break. Both Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist will represent Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, while Saros will play for Finland.