Bonino's natural hat trick lifts Predators past Blackhawks

NASHVILLE --Nick Bonino got his third NHL hat trick, and Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for the Nashville Predators in a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

It was Rinne's second consecutive shutout.
"If you look at Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner], he was on fire," Rinne said. "He was the only reason this game was reasonable for them. I haven't been part of that kind of game I don't think in my career. We played extremely well throughout the game, didn't have any lapses. Just kept going and generating more and more, but for me personally, it was one of the easier shutouts."
[WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Predators highlights]
Rocco Grimaldi had three assists, and Craig Smith had two assists for the Predators (8-3-1), who have won four straight games.
Lehner made 48 saves for the Blackhawks (3-6-2), who are 1-4-1 in their past six games.
"[Lehner] was vocal, he had energy," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "He would come to the bench and he always had something positive to say, despite the fact that we were pretty much hanging him out to dry every single shift. He made some huge stops. It could've been a 10-0 game if it wasn't for him."

Bonino gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 17:56 of the first period, scoring with a backhand on a rebound in front following Grimaldi's initial shot.
"Sometimes the puck sits there for you, and sometimes it doesn't," Bonino said. "The puck had some good bounces, hit me a couple of times, and just sat there. I was just trying to get there. I knew [Smith] and [Grimaldi] were cycling, they were winning all of their battles, and getting pucks to the net. I just tried to go to the net and find some rebounds."
Bonino extended the lead to 2-0 at 9:03 of the second period on a rebound in the slot off a shot by Grimaldi, and he made it 3-0 at 3:40 of the third period on another rebound in front of the net off Grimaldi's initial shot.
"I don't think I've ever been a part of a game where a guy scores three goals the exact same way in a 3-0 game," Grimaldi said. "That was pretty crazy to watch. It was just a complete game by everybody. I mean, all four lines were rolling, [Rinne] was obviously perfect, and we just had a really good game. We had 80 or 90 shot attempts, potentially. I don't know if it was 51 shots, 24 blocked, plus all of the missed nets. It was fun to play in and fun to watch."

They said it

"If you don't do the right things consistently, you don't get good results. Today was a crazy game, to be honest. Forget the shots, we had a lot of chances today. The one thing that I really like is my [defensemen] really worked with me today and we fought hard. They tried their best to help me out until the last second of the game, so that's positive. I commend them for that." -- Blackhawks goalie Robin Lehner
"I'm just happy to see a guy like that get rewarded. I think [Craig Smith] and [Nick Bonino] tonight were just awesome. It was their best game, by far, of the year. [Smith] was all over the ice retrieving pucks, putting pucks to the net, winning battles, and then [Bonino], obviously, in his office puts three in. It was fun. Honestly, sometimes you're going to the bench and we were just like 'This is fun. This is hockey. This is the best.' You've just got to keep going like that and build momentum." -- Predators forward Rocco Grimaldi

Need to know

Toews has two points (one goal, one assist) in 11 games. … Predators forward Filip Forsberg has missed the past six games with a lower-body injury. He participated in practice Monday in a non-contact jersey and in the morning skate Tuesday. … Predators forward Matt Duchene returned to the lineup after missing their last game because of a lower-body injury. He had two takeaways in 16:49 of ice time. … Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Calgary Flames on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, FS-TN, NHL.TV)