Preds Rebound to Collect Seventh Win Against Blackhawks to Finish Series

The wins just keep on getting bigger.
Ryan Johansen, Luke Kunin and Erik Haula all tallied - and Juuse Saros starred again - as the Nashville Predators bounced back to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by a 3-1 final on Friday night at United Center. The result gives Nashville 26 wins and 54 points on the season, four points ahead of Dallas and five in front of Chicago for the fourth spot in the Central Division's postseason race.
The victory also sees the Preds finish their season series with a 7-0-1 record against the Hawks, including a 2-0-1 count in the three-game series over the past week, a satisfying conclusion against their top rivals.

"It's a big rivalry, we've had for many years and we handled them well this year," Johansen said. "A lot of them were close games and tough games, and we found ways to win, so huge points for us."
"The last few games, we've really established the way we want to play," Preds Associate Captain Ryan Ellis said. "We're becoming more and more consistent in that style, and it was a good way to end the season series."
Friday's win was also exactly what the Predators were looking for after an overtime loss on Wednesday in which they gave up a three-goal lead in the third period. That wasn't an issue 48 hours later, and just as they've done following virtually every loss over the past month or so, the Preds rebounded once more.

"The motivation of the players and the mindset of the players to rest up and rejuvenate, and we talked about some things tactically that needed to be better, and we knew we're going to have to have a really strong effort tonight," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "It's good to see, and I give the guys a lot of credit. They've been adaptable, they take the lessons that we as a coaching staff are trying to teach, whether they're tactically or mentally or just team identity things… and it was nice to see the response and the way that we responded to an adverse situation. We played a pretty solid game here tonight."

The opening 20 minutes yielded nothing in the way of goals, but the Preds got two in the second stanza, the first coming off the stick of Johansen, who jammed a loose puck past Malcolm Subban for a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, Kunin continued to pace the Preds when it came to posting points against the Blackhawks, as he slid a shot underneath the pad of Subban and over the line to give Nashville a two-goal lead advantage entering the third period.

Haula gave the Preds a 3-0 lead late in the third period, and although the Blackhawks beat Saros with an extra attacker, Nashville locked things down in the final frame to collect win No. 26 on the season, thanks in large part to their goaltender.

"Juice really impressed me," Johansen said. "He was a stud. They had some looks early on, and we needed some saves. He was in total control of his game as usual, and he was great for us."
From here, the Predators will turn their attention to a back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers on Monday and Tuesday. With just seven games remaining in the regular season, Nashville controls their fate in the pursuit of the postseason.
"We don't have a lot of time left, and we're doing a bit of standings watching, but we know we've got to take care of business in our end," Ellis said. "The last few games, we've dialed in, we've been playing better hockey, more consistent, and hopefully we can continue with our success and obviously get a little healthier along the way."

Notes:
Nashville's lineup remained unchanged from Wednesday's game against the Blackhawks.
Luke Kunin finished the season series as Nashville's leading scorer against Chicago with four goals and eight points over those eight contests.
After a weekend off, the Predators will begin a three-game homestand with a back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers on Monday and Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. Tickets are available to both games;
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. That will lead into a three-day break between games before a crucial contest next Saturday against the Dallas Stars.