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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. Chicago Bears Jerseys . The 22-year-old slugger, who is no stranger to adversity, made up for it at the end. Mike Ditka Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Latvia won a four-man World Cup bobsled race Sunday, while the U. http://www.officialchicagobearspro.com/G...bears-jersey/.Y. -- First, Ryan Miller. Mike Singletary Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. Dan Hampton Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Detroit Tigers were soaked in the joy of another division title, jumping around in their matching, drenched T-shirts when Torii Hunter darted from the room. He came back a few seconds later, bear-hugging an important piece of the party: manager Jim Leyland. "I got Skip! I got Skip! I got Skip!" Hunter yelled. The gruff old skipper was smiling wide, and he even did a little dance before retreating to his office. The Tigers were sure having fun, and they want to throw a bigger celebration next month. Max Scherzer earned his 21st win and the Tigers became AL Central champions for the third straight year by beating the Minnesota Twins 1-0 on Wednesday night. "I just dont think people realize how hard it is to win," Leyland said before Hunter nabbed him. The 68-year-old managers voice cracked several times as he fought off tears during his postgame interview. Hunters single followed a leadoff triple by Austin Jackson in the first inning, and that was all Scherzer (21-3) and the Tigers needed. "For us to be able to do it three straight years now is really special and a testament to the talent in our clubhouse," Scherzer said. Scherzer gave up two singles in seven innings. Jose Veras and Drew Smyly teamed up for the eighth and Joaquin Benoit worked the ninth for his 24th save in 25 tries. A few dozen Tigers fans in attendance at Target Field cheered from their seats while Miguel Cabrera and his teammates mobbed Benoit in front of the mound after he struck out Josh Willingham to end the game. The celebration picked up even more in the clubhouse, where the Tigers sprayed sparkling wine all over each other and started smoking cigars once the bottles were empty. Scherzer spun one more solid start for the AL Cy Young Award voters to consider, except for the season-high six walks and 123 pitches. He struck out 10 and lowered his ERA to 2.90, ensuring hell finish the season with the most wins in the major leagues. Jordan Zimmermann, the next closest, has 19 for Washington. "Twenty-one wins. We call him Black Jack," Hunter said, ski goggles resting on the top of his head. Second-place Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox, but the Tigers maintained their 4 1/2-game lead. The Indians control the second AL wild-card spot. Kevin Correia (9-13) did his best to give the Twins a chance, giving up seven hits and one run over seven innings to finish his first season with the Twins with a 4.18 ERA. "They earned it. They did a great job this year," Correia said of the Tigers. The cleear favourites to win the Central again after getting swept by San Francisco in last years World Series, the Tigers havent had a losing month this season.dddddddddddd They tightened their grip on the division with a 12-game winning streak shortly after the All-Star break. Cabrera has followed his Triple Crown season with another spectacular year despite persistent midsection injuries. The supporting cast of Prince Fielder, Omar Infante, Jackson and Hunter has helped Detroit stay one of baseballs best-hitting teams. The rotation has been even better. Anibal Sanchez and Scherzer have turned star right-hander Justin Verlander into an afterthought at times, and Doug Fister and Rick Porcello are two of the best fourth and fifth starters around. The bullpen, shaky at the start, has been more stable with Benoit as the closer. Now its on to the post-season, where the Tigers have had some success under Leyland but still fell short of the ultimate goal, the teams first World Series title since 1984. They were American League champions in 2006 and runners-up in 2011. Its still too early to tell which team the Tigers will play in the division series, but they werent worried about that on Wednesday. "When we started in spring training, it was almost like the only thing we could do was fail. People had such high expectations," Leyland said. "I talked about that and said, Dont get caught up in the expectations. Get caught up in how youre going to live up to the expectations." Scherzer struck out four straight in one stretch. The first hit, by Chris Parmelee in the fourth inning, was a slow roller that didnt reach third base. Scherzer snagged it but had no play, grimacing about the blemish on the scoreboard. He retired the next batter on an infield popup. Then in the fifth after a single and a walk with one out, Scherzer went to a 3-1 count on Brian Dozier, who has quietly become perhaps this depleted Twins teams best hitter with Justin Morneau now in Pittsburgh and Joe Mauer recovering from a concussion. Scherzer struck out Dozier on a mid-80s mph slider and watched catcher Alex Avila fire a perfect throw to third base that caught Alex Presley stealing. Scherzer pumped his arm as he walked off the mound. NOTES: Leyland said he hopes SS Jose Iglesias (left hand) will play Friday in Miami, where Porcello (13-8, 4.38 ERA) will pitch against RHP Tom Koehler (4-10, 4.45 ERA). ... With the Tigers losing their DH for the weekend, Victor Martinez could catch some and give Fielder a few innings off at 1B, Leyland said. 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