of Joliet, Illinois, Hollingsworth was a fourth round selection of the

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. Cheap Detroit Lions Jerseys . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Cheap Houston Texans Jerseys . The Canadian Luge Association officially named seven athletes to the 2014 Olympic team Tuesday. Edney, will lead teenagers John Fennell and Mitchel Malyk into their first Games in mens singles. Tristan Walker and Justin Snith will represent Canada in doubles, while Gough, will be joined by Kimberley McRae in womens singles. http://www.cheapjerseys-wholesalechina.com/?tag=cheap-buffalo-bills-jerseys . Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist each as the Sea Dogs extended the longest streak in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Cheap Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . - Tiger Woods only made it through 10 holes Thursday — this time because of the weather, not his back. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney announced today the signing of starting pitchers Ethan Hollingsworth and Nick Hernandez to contracts for the 2014 season. Hollingsworth, 26, played in the Pittsburgh Pirates system last year at Class AA Altoona of the Eastern League and Class AAA Indianapolis of the International League. In 24 appearances with Altoona, including nine starts, he went 6-5 with a 3.55 ERA. He also made a pair of starts for Indianapolis, going 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. “Hes a guy that we targeted early in our signing process through Spring Training releases,” Forney said. “We quickly identified him as a No. 1 type starter and we wanted to get after him as soon as we possibly could. Hes had extensive time at the Double-A and Triple-A levels during the last four seasons. We really feel hes the kind of guy that can come in and carry our pitching staff.” A native of Joliet, Illinois, Hollingsworth was a fourth round selection of the Colorado Rockies in the 2008 MLB amateur draft and has played parts of four seasons at Class AA and parts of three seasons at Class AAA.dddddddddddd His best season came in 2010 in the Rockies organization when he went 12-8 with a 3.31 ERA in 25 starts with Class A Advanced Modesto of the California League. He led the league in wins and ERA that season. Hernandez, 25, made 18 starts in the Philadelphia Phillies system last season with Class A Advanced Clearwater of the Florida State League, going 3-5 with a 5.28 ERA. It was the first season back for the southpaw after missing two campaigns with a shoulder injury. “Hes a strike-thrower and he competes well,” Forney said. “Hes going to come in a fight for a spot in the rotation.” Hernandez was drafted by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft. He played three seasons in their system, all as a starter. He has a career 14-8 record and 3.60 ERA in 45 starts. The Goldeyes now have 26 players signed for the 2014 season, including 14 pitchers and 12 position players. The Goldeyes will open training camp for the 2014 season on Saturday, May 3 at Shaw Park as part of the teams annual Open House event. ' ' '