Preds Extend Win Streak to Four with Victory in Chicago

The weekend getaway is off to an excellent start.
Juuse Saros only allowed a single goal once more, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks by a 3-1 final on Saturday night at the United Center. The victory extends Nashville's winning streak to four games and brings them within just two points of the Hawks for the fourth spot in the Central Division, while leapfrogging Columbus into fifth place.
In addition to yet another nearly perfect performance from Saros, Ryan Johansen, Rocco Grimaldi and Mikael Granlund capitalized for the visitors to start the most important weekend of the season thus far. Plus, Luke Kunin recorded a pair of assists, as he returned to the Nashville lineup from Injured Reserve, just one more participant helping to make a difference for the Preds.

"We were four [points] back from Chicago before tonight, and now we're two," Kunin said. "These games matter. They're very important for us to climb into a playoff spot, so we all know that in the room and we've got to go out and [keep doing] the right thing so we can keep climbing."

"It was a good start," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of the first installment of the back-to-back with Chicago. "We had a nice day off yesterday, traveled later at night, so I think the guys have had some rest and recovery, I think they're using their time wisely and we have a lot of energy. We have a lot of mental freshness, and now you understand we've put ourselves in position where you're competing and you're in a playoff race, so you understand the excitement of the games are really important. But, I think the preparation from the players and the consistency to bring the work level that we need to have success has been a big difference."

Nashville had a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes, as Johansen capitalized on a beautiful backhand feed from Viktor Arvidsson to beat Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen. After a four-goal game in Thursday's win over Detroit, Grimaldi found the back of the net once more to double lead for the Preds midway through the second.

"[Saturday and Sunday are the] biggest games of the year so far, and I really liked our start to this one," Johansen said. "We came out and dictated the pace and did a lot of good things. We got off to an early lead and did a good job the rest of the way."
Chicago got on the board late in the middle frame when Pius Suter beat Saros, but just 51 seconds into the third, Kunin found Granlund for a tap in and a 3-1 Predators lead. After that, Saros finished with 13 saves alone in the final frame, and just two days after Nashville collected their first three-game winning streak of the season, they extended it by one more.

"Just the way we play, we work, how we defend, we've got guys tracking the puck and all that - I don't think we're giving a lot to the teams we play against," Granlund said. "Our goalies have been just unbelievable, so that's a big thing, but there's a lot of good things. We'll just keep rolling all four lines, and we have all four lines going, so it's fun to play."
Kunin's return was needed with Filip Forsberg missing Saturday's game with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Matt Benning was also unavailable due to injury, but just as the Predators have done over the past few weeks, when someone goes down, someone else steps up.
"Coach actually said it after the game, that 'next-guy-up' mentality has been exceptional for our group this year and guys being pros and being ready to go," Johansen said. "Another great job tonight. Those two guys weren't in the lineup for us, and then with a couple guys going down there, for [Kunin and defenseman Jeremy Davies] to jump in and make big impacts in the game was huge for our group. We've had that all year, and it says a lot about our guys."
The first pair of points available in the two-game set have gone to Nashville, and while Saturday's result is an ideal start, the weekend could be much better by this time tomorrow. With the way the Predators are playing right now, success on Sunday is certainly possible, and the group knows what they have to do for a happy flight back to Tennessee.
"We're playing very well as a group and doing things the right way within our system, and we're getting rewarded for it," Johansen said. "It's nice to see, and I think we're all just proud of each other and how we're working and going out there and competing. It's turned into fun and good results, so we just want to keep that going."

Notes:
Eeli Tolvanen recorded a secondary assist on Johansen's goal and extended his point streak to four games (2g-4a).
In addition to Kunin's two assists, the forward registered three shots on goal and tied for the team lead with five hits after missing the previous 13 games due to a lower-body injury.
Preds forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Matt Benning missed Saturday's game in Chicago and are both day-to-day with upper-body injuries. Defenseman Jeremy Davies took Benning's spot in the lineup, while Kunin filled the forward position for Forsberg.
During Saturday's game,
Predators General Manager David Poile was named an inductee into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2021.
The second half of the back-to-back set between the Preds and Hawks comes Sunday night (at 7 p.m. CT) in Chicago before Nashville heads home to Dallas for a pair on Tuesday and Thursday.