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Blackhawks Get By Preds in Overtime

Alex DeBrincat scored 37 seconds into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night in Derek King's NHL coaching debut.

 

DeBrincat finished a 2-on-1 break and give-and-go with Patrick Kane to lift the Blackhawks to just their second win. DeBrincat got a return pass from Kane and popped his seventh goal past Juuse Saros from the left side of the net.

 

After scoring, DeBrincat scooped the puck from the back of the net and presented it to King in the dressing room. The 54-year-old King was promoted from the Blackhawks top minor league club, Rockford of the AHL, to Chicago's interim coach after Jeremy Colliton was fired on Saturday following a 1-9-2 start.

 

Chicago's Brandon Hagel and Nashville's Alexandre Carrier scored 1:50 apart in the second period for the only goals in regulation. Hagel left midway through the third period holding his left arm, but King didn't have a medical report immediately after the game

 

Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 shots for Chicago.

 

Saros finished with 30 saves as Nashville earned a point against Chicago for the 11th straight game (8-0-3). The Predators were 7-0-1 vs. the Blackhawks last season.

 

The Blackhawks' coaching change is the latest chapter in a rough stretch for the franchise. The team published a report on Oct. 26 that showed senior leaders with the organization largely ignored allegations that assistant coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted former first-round pick Kyle Beach during Chicago's run to the Stanley Cup title in 2010.

 

Stan Bowman, the Blackhawks' general manager and president of hockey operations, resigned in the wake of the independent review, and Al MacIsaac, another top hockey executive, also departed. The NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million.

 

The coaching switch was the first major move for interim GM Kyle Davidson, who was elevated when Bowman stepped aside.

 

The Blackhawks host Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

 

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