It was a series that might well have made a difference for the Chicago Blackhawks. Oh it made a difference, but not the one they needed.
On Friday night, the Nashville Predators finished their three-game set with the Hawks with a 3-1 win.
The decision gave the Preds a 2-0-1 record over the series.
“A lot of the games were extremely competitive,” Nashville head coach John Hynes said. “We were fortunate enough to find ways to win the games. As we come down the stretch, we knew this was going to be an important week. All three games were really hard fought, and fortunately for us we found a way to win them, or at least two out of the three.”
Vinnie Hinostroza was the lone goal for Chicago, he made the score 3-1, with under two minutes left on the clock.
“We had a lot of the play the first 30 minutes, and then when they got the lead, they were able to capture some momentum and they made it hard for us to get it back,” Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton said. “They tightened up a lot and made it hard for us to get through the neutral zone.”
Ryan Johansen gave the Predators a 1-0 lead in the middle frame.
Luke Kunin, pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute of the second period.
“[Kunin’s] just constantly moving his feet and he’s playing with a real physical presence, and that’s engaged him in the game constantly and he’s very involved in each play and being surrounded by some great players,” Johansen said. “He’s created some space for himself and found a way to get to those scoring areas.”
Ryan Ellis scored at 16:05 of the third to put the game out of reach.
Malcolm Subban made 25 saves in the loss.
“Obviously, it’s not good,” the Blackhawks’ Connor Murphy said. “It’s not what we wanted. It’s a team we hate losing to, especially in the years past. It’s just not good enough by us to let so many games slide against them. That’s really all there is to say.”
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