THREE THINGS: Hinostroza Strikes, Subban Stretch and Beaudin Back In

For the opening half of the game, the Blackhawks looked to be carrying the momentum from Wednesday's comeback win in OT, but fell in their third game this week against the Predators, 3-1.
Chicago had 23 shots on goal at the midpoint, but from then on only posted seven over the back half as Nashville closed things down defensively, much like they've done all year against the Blackhawks. Chicago finished the season set with a 1-5-2 record against their Tennessee opponents.

"We had our stretches in the game where we were good and they had theirs," Patrick Kane said. "It would've been nice to get one early, especially against this team. Make them chance the game a little bit. They're pretty good when they get the lead. Would've been nice to get that first one in there."
"It's not good. Not what we wanted," Connor Murphy said of the season series. "That's a team that 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."

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

HINOSTROZA STRIKES

Chicago got on the board late thanks to the net-front presence of newcomer Vinnie Hinostroza, who put home a Wyatt Kalynuk shot from the point with just 3:19 to play to make it a 3-1 game. It was too late for the late-game heroics Chicago displayed on Wednesday, but it marked the second straight game the forward found twine and his eighth point (2G, 6A) in nine games since being acquired on April 2.
"We need that," Colliton said of his performance. "When we're good against teams like this, those types of players are the ones that break through because they can win a race, they can get it on the forecheck and get there early enough to create a battle and maybe establish ourselves in the offensive zone or drive the puck deep and get it down there, get it through their neutral zone forecheck. He's effective. We need more of that from our group."
"He's been great," Kane said. "He's dynamic, seems to make whoever's playing with him better. I've enjoyed getting on the ice with him and playing with him when I get the chance. I thought we had some good shifts tonight, had some chances. He's been a bright spot for us lately, for sure."
Since his second-stint debut on April 6, Hinostroza trails only Kane for the team lead in points with eight, equaling No. 88 with a pair of tallies.

SUBBAN STRETCH

Subban made his second straight start for just the second time this season, the first coming in late February coinciding with his first shutout of the season and the following outing. The netminder made several key stops on the night, including a post-to-post snag of a 2-on-1 break early in the game that kept a scoreless board while Chicago was controlling offensively.

"Suby's been good for us all year. He answers the bell when he's in. Tonight, I'm sure he wouldn't be totally satisfied with, but I think he made some really big saves early. I can think of the 2-on-1, in particular, early in the game. That was a huge save. He certainly kept it 0-0 early when they had some transition chances. We believe in him."
With starts in three of the last four and his brief relief appearance in the lone non-start on Monday, the last week has the most consistent action for Subban in net all season. In his three full-game appearances, he's posted a 2.33 goals-against average and totaled 90 stops on 97 shots (.927 SV%).
"They both want to play, that's for sure. Suby's done well, he deserves the chance to go back," Colliton explained pregame. "A little break for [Kevin Lankinen] is probably not a bad thing, but I think at this point he's champing at the bit to go in, and that's good. We like that."

BEAUDIN BACK IN

Nicolas Beaudin drew back into the lineup on Friday night for the first time in nearly a month, replacing the injured Calvin de Haan on the blue line from Wednesday's lineup.
The rookie skated 12:48 of ice time and notched a secondary assist on Hinostroza's late tally. It was just the fourth NHL game dating back to mid-February for Beaudin after skating in 11 of 12 prior.
"I thought he did well," Colliton said. "He hasn't played a lot recently and not a lot with us, so it's tough to just be thrown in there. He made a lot of plays early on, in particular. It's part of why I thought we were good early on is guys like him made some plays that allowed us to get some speed and attack together with numbers, and that helps. Like everyone else, it seemed like it was tougher going to make those plays the last half of the game."
It was the second straight game that Colliton opted to go with seven defensemen after losing a blueliner in the middle of a game four times in the last two weeks, including de Haan on Wednesday.
"I think when he's at his best, he's moving the puck, he's skating the puck, getting us out of D-zone. He can gives us something from the offensive blue line," Colliton said of Beaudin before the game. "At this point, we feel we need one more option back there for the guys who can play minutes. He's shown earlier in the year that he can do that for us."
In his latest absence, Beaudin skated in three AHL games, posting one assist. All told, he has two goals and eight assists in nine games for the Rockford IceHogs this season.