CHICAGO -- Roman Josi and Nashvilles dangerous defencemen did it all against the Chicago Blackhawks. That is why Pekka Rinne believes the blue-liners are the biggest key for a strong finish to the Predators disappointing season. Josi had three assists, and Ryan Ellis scored in the third period to lead the Predators to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday night. "If we win or lose, usually its the D-men," said Rinne, who made with 31 saves. "The talent we have on the back end, were pretty fortunate to have that kind of depth in the defence." Shea Weber also had his team-best 27th assist as Nashvilles defencemen combined for five points in the Predators third consecutive win. Weber also leads the team with 43 points, and Josi jumped into a tie with Patric Hornqvist for second on the team with 21 assists. "Thats the strength really of our group, our D-men," coach Barry Trotz said. "Theyre all young and talented. Were the youngest team in the league by three years on the blue line. The future is really bright for us there. Now weve got to work on trying to get those elite forwards like the Blackhawks have." It was the second straight loss for Chicago, which is struggling to keep up with the top contenders in the rugged Western Conference. The reigning Stanley Cup champions dropped to 10-8-7 in 2014. Jonathan Toews and Peter Regin scored for the Blackhawks, and Corey Crawford made 26 saves in his 200th NHL game. "Were putting ourself in tough situations by not starting well and getting away from our team game," Toews said. "Not much of an explanation, but we know we need better right now. We need to get out of this trend were in right now." Mike Fisher and Hornqvist also scored for Nashville, which has won two of three against Chicago this season. Ellis fourth goal of the season came right after the Predators killed a holding penalty on the defenceman that carried over into the third. He jumped out of the box, got a long pass from Josi and beat Crawford on a breakaway to make it 3-1 just 45 seconds into the period. "I was just fortunate enough to time it right," Ellis said. "Josi made a great play with a blocked shot then a tape-to-tape pass through the zone." Regins tip-in got the Blackhawks within one again at 11:28, but they were unable to tie it. Regins second goal with Chicago came after Toews sent a wide-open opportunity off the left post 4:40 into the third. Toews also had an open tip go wide with 36 seconds left. "We knew they were going to make a push," Josi said. "With that team theyve got a lot of skill, but Peks was great again." Chicago controlled the action at the start, but Nashville began to pressure Crawford midway through the first. Nick Spaling shot wide right on a prime opportunity with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Fisher put the Predators in front when he pushed a rebound over Crawfords left leg for his 17th goal at 15:33. Nashville used a big slap shot by Weber to open a 2-0 lead with 69 seconds left in the first. Crawford stopped the drive by the big defenceman, but Hornqvist swept in the rebound for his 13th. Crawford hopped up and slammed his stick down as the Predators celebrated Hornqvists first goal since March 4. "Tough to watch the last part of the first period," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought that was as bad as weve probably played for any stretch all year." The two-goal deficit seemed to wake up the Blackhawks for a bit. Toews stole the puck from Josi and passed it to Kris Versteeg, who passed it back to the captain for his 26th goal with 14 seconds remaining. Chicago carried the momentum into the second, but Rinne was there each time. He used his left pad to deny Patrick Sharp on a 1-on-1 opportunity, and he got some help from teammates when the Blackhawks had the puck in front during a power play at the end of the period. Crawford also used his glove to grab Craig Smiths shot with 5:46 left in the second. NOTES: Blackhawks F Marian Hossa (upper body) participated in the morning skate and is hoping to return Sunday at home against Detroit or Tuesday at Philadelphia. He has missed five games. ... Predators F Viktor Stalberg received a warm ovation when he was shown on the video board in the first period for helping Chicago win the Stanley Cup last season. Cubs Jerseys China .com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend. Leon Durham Cubs Jersey . Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the club. Clemons spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 draft out of Clemson. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2890t-moises-alou-jersey-cubs.html . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Jody Davis Cubs Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Anthony Rizzo Cubs Jersey . - Justin Turner is at his best with runners in scoring position, and he delivered again in a big spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers.LAS VEGAS -- The World squad is off to an impressive start at the Continental Cup curling tournament, taking a 2-1 lead over North America after Thursdays opening draw. Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Muirhead stole three in the fourth end and two more in fifth to earn the full point in the team standings. "It was a great start, we played really well and the ice conditions are fantastic," Muirhead said. "We had a really solid game out there and to get the first points on the board for Team World was good." The teams will meet again, possibly this week and certainly in Sochi. "You forget that Sochi is only a couple of weeks away and Jennifers going to be there but it doesnt really cross your mind," Muirhead said. "We play Jennifer a lot during the season and every game is just as tough. It makes it no different to any other game if we play her here or at the Winter Olympics or at any (World Curling) Tour event." Norways Thomas Ulsrud gave World another point with a 7-4 win over Winnipegs Jeff Stoughton. Ulsrud, who is also bound for Sochi, picked up three points in the fourth end to open up the game.dddddddddddd "I think we played pretty solid out there," said Ulsrud, the silver medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. "Weve been practising pretty hard in preparation for the Olympics. "Its good to get a good start for Team World. This is a big event for us. We get to play the Canadian Olympic (Brad Jacobs) team and the U.S. Olympic team (John Shuster), so were looking forward to that, it will be good practice. Hopefully we can send a message to them; I just hope they dont crush us." The U.S. Olympic womens team salvaged a point for North America as Erika Brown defeated Japans Satsuki Fujisawa 5-3. "It was a great big win. Its fun to play in front of 4-5,000 people and to play well," Brown said. "I could sense that things werent going so well on the other sheets so Im happy we got a point today (for North America)." A total of 60 points are available through the four days of competition, with the first team reaching 30.5 points earning the Continental Cup title. The tournament continued later Thursday with a round of mixed doubles. ' ' '