NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Before Saturday night's game against the Predators, Patrick Kane was reminded that Pekka Rinne described last month's blanking of the Blackhawks as "one of the for-sure easier shutouts" of his career.
"We know what he said," Kane said. "So take it any way you want, and be ready to play tonight."
The Hawks were ready. Rinne wasn't.
Revenge games in November are rare, but the Hawks pulled one off Saturday with a 7-2 victory over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena for their third straight win that extended their point streak to five games.
The Hawks are 5-1-2 since losing 3-0 to the Predators on Oct. 29 and improved to 8-7-4. The Predators finished with a 41-24 shot lead, but unlike the last time they played, the Hawks contested nearly every shot and created consistent offensive opportunities.
Alex Nylander scored a pair of goals, and Erik Gustafsson, Dominik Kubalik, Brent Seabrook, David Kampf, and Kane also scored for the Hawks. They chased Rinne from the game with 8 minutes, 21 seconds left in the second period after he allowed four goals on 14 shots.
The Predators began the game with the same ferocity they showed last month when they outshot the Hawks 51-20. They took the first six shots on goal Saturday, but the Hawks withstood the onslaught and scored on their second shot of the game. Jonathan Toews won a faceoff back to Gustafsson, whose wrist shot through traffic got past Rinne to make it 1-0 for Gustafsson's second goal in as many games.
The Hawks got a bit lucky in the early part of the first period. A Rocco Grimaldi shot hit the crossbar, and shortly after Gustafsson's goal a Predators' dump-in took a funny bounce and got past Hawks goalie Robin Lehner. But instead of dribbling in, the puck straddled the goal line, and Duncan Keith was able to arrive in time to sweep it away.
Kirby Dach picked up a point in his third straight game when he stole the puck in the offensive zone and found Kubalik alone in the slot. The rookie forward slipped it through Rinne's legs for his fifth goal of the season.
Lehner wasn't at his best despite stopping 39 shots. He gave up more rebounds than usual, including one that Roman Josi pounded in early in the third period to cut the lead to 4-1 and give the Predators a little momentum.
But a few minutes later, Kane scored his 10th goal of the season. Nylander followed with two goals in the third _ his first goals in 15 games _ to put the Hawks up 7-1. Kane had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to eight games, with seven goals and nine assists in that span.
