Saros makes 29 saves, Predators defeat Blackhawks

CHICAGO --Juuse Saros made 29 saves for the Nashville Predators in a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday.

Ryan Ellis had two assists for the Predators (26-21-2), who were 2-0-1 in the three-game set and moved four points ahead of the Dallas Stars, who have three games in hand, for fourth place in the Discover Central Division. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"A lot of the games were extremely competitive," Nashville 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 scored, and Malcolm Subban made 25 saves for the Blackhawks (22-21-5), who finished 1-5-2 against the Predators this season. Chicago is five points behind Nashville for fourth in the division.
"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 coach Jeremy Colliton said. "They tightened up a lot and made it hard for us to get through the neutral zone."
Subban made a sprawling left-pad save against Ryan Johansen on a 2-on-1 at 16:02 of the first period.
"That was a huge save," Colliton said. "He certainly kept it 0-0 for a while early when they had some transition chances early in the first."
Johansen gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 6:33 of the second period with a backhand in the crease off a rebound.

Luke Kunin scored for a third straight game to make it 2-0 at 16:24. Mikael Granlund passed from behind the net between Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov's legs to Kunin, who slipped the puck under Subban's left pad from a sharp angle.
Kunin scored four points (three goals, one assist) in the three games and has scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 games since returning from a lower-body injury on March 27
"[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."
Erik Haula extended the lead to 3-0 at 16:05 of the third period, again beating Subban from a sharp angle near the right wall.

Hinostroza tipped Wyatt Kalynuk's shot from the point to cut it to 3-1 at 16:41.
"Obviously, it's not good," Blackhawks defenseman 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."
NOTES:Saros was 5-0-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average and .948 save percentage against Chicago this season. He is 17-9-1, tying his NHL career high for wins he set in each of the previous two seasons. … Nashville was 0-for-2 on the power play and is 0-for-23 in its past nine games. Chicago is 17-for-17 on the penalty kill in its past seven games. … The Predators are 13-0-1 when leading after two periods. The Blackhawks are 3-17-0 when trailing after two.