CHICAGO -- Roman Josi and Nashvilles dangerous defencemen did it all against the Chicago Blackhawks. Jason Witten Womens Jersey . 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. Tony Dorsett Womens Jersey . -- Gary Harris gave No. Jay Novacek Cowboys Jersey . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand.WASHINGTON -- Anthony Rendon doubled twice and drove in three runs, and the Washington Nationals opened a six-game homestand with a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Ryan Zimmerman added two doubles and two RBIs as Washington snapped a four-game losing streak. Tanner Roark (6-4) pitched five innings in winning his third straight start. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 14th save. Houstons Jose Altuve returned to the lineup, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs. He was limited to one pinch-hitting appearance in the last three games after being hit on the right hand by a pitch. Houston trailed 6-1 before scoring four in the eighth off Tyler Clippard, the last two on a double by Altuve, who is hitting .370 (17 for 46) in June. Dallas Keuchel (8-4) came in 6-1 with a 1.33 ERA over his last seven starts, but struggled with his command. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and a season-high four walks, while striking out four in five innings. It was the shortest outing since April 5 for Keuchel, who tied his season high in runs allowed while picking up his first road loss. Houston has lost three of four overall and 11 of its last 12 against Washington. Keuchel was lifted after throwing 105 pitches. Roark tossed 95 on a night when the game-time temperature was 92 degrees. Roark gave up seven hits and walked two, but minimized the damage when the Astros loaded the bases on three singles leading off the fourth. After Roark fanned Jason Castro, Matt Dominguez hit a grounder that deflected off Roarks foot into right field, scooring Altuve to pull Houston within 4-1. Dallas Cowboys Jerseys. Roark rebounded to get Jonathan Villar on a fly to shallow left before striking out Robbie Grossman. Washington, which managed just four runs in its four straight losses, scored four in three innings against one of the leagues hottest pitchers. Denard Span broke a 0 for 18 skid when he opened the first with an infield hit on a bouncer off the plate. He scored on Rendons double to the wall in right centre. With one out, Zimmerman doubled to drive in Rendon and make it 2-0. The Nationals doubled their lead in the third. With two outs, Zimmerman doubled home Jayson Werth, who had walked. Zimmerman scored on a single by Ian Desmond. Rendon made it 6-1 when he doubled in two runs off reliever Kyle Farnsworth in the sixth. NOTES: Washington OF Bryce Harper took two-handed swings Tuesday for the first time since injuring his left thumb April 25. Manager Matt Williams said Harper hit soft toss pitching in the indoor batting cage Tuesday and the goal is to evaluate him on the field this week. Williams pointed to "beyond July 1" for Harpers return. . Houston manager Bo Porter coached third base for the Nationals from 2011-12. Tuesday was his first visit since Washington dropped the decisive Game 5 of the 2012 NL Division Series to St. Louis after leading 6-0. "It hurt," he said of that loss. "I would say it still hurts." . Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-4, 4.62) returns Wednesday from the 15-day DL (shoulder inflammation) and opposes RHP Scott Feldman (3-4, 3.98). ' ' '