NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When the Blackhawks and Predators played 18 days ago, Predators goalie Pekka Rinne finished the night remarking about how easy his shutout had been.
On Saturday, Rinne didn’t even last until the second intermission.
The Hawks flipped the script in stark fashion with a 7-2 rout, riding first-period goals from Erik Gustafsson and Dominik Kubalik, second-period goals from Brent Seabrook and David Kampf and third-period goals from Patrick Kane and Alex Nylander (two) to their biggest margin of victory this season. They are 4-0-1 in their last five games.
‘‘Well, he didn’t have the best night today,” a grinning Gustafsson said of Rinne.
‘‘We knew coming into this rink it was going to be a test for us, and we wanted to respond and show that wasn’t our team last time we were here,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘I thought we did that. We’ve had a good stretch where we’ve been getting points, and we want to extend it.’’
In the three weeks between their visits to Nashville, the Hawks have evolved from a dysfunctional group into an assertive team well aware of its strengths — transition offense and goaltending, both of which held true Saturday — and playing a style that accentuates them.
Just as they did Oct. 29, the Predators had significantly more shots and scoring chances than the Hawks, although the deficit wasn’t quite as stark as it was the last time.
But that understates the degree to which the Hawks controlled the game, weathering the Predators’ quick-to-the-puck forecheck throughout and maintaining lengthy cycling shifts numerous times in the offensive zone.
‘‘We were just more resilient,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘We said before the game they were going to have stretches where they’re good and so be it. . . . We needed someone to come out with a shift, win a battle, win a race, make a play, and I think we did that multiple times.’’
The Hawks’ best players so far this season — Kane and goalie Robin Lehner — also played like the stars they are.
Kane has seven goals and nine assists in the Hawks’ last eight games after another two-point night.
And Lehner made big saves look routine, as usual, including a sequence of crucial stops after the Predators had cut the lead to 4-1 early in the third period and threatened to make a game of it. He finished with 39 saves.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19383663/Murphy__1_.jpg)
Murphy solid in return
Lockdown defenseman Connor Murphy didn’t miss a stride in his return from injured reserve.
Murphy, who had been out with a groin injury, had two blocks right in front of Lehner, showing his importance to the defense and an admirable lack of fear of reinjury. He played more than 19 minutes.
‘‘Gaps and flows of play felt a little off at first,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s a timing you can’t really get down in practice. Obviously, with a lead like that, it’s nice to do things the rest of the game to get yourself feeling back to normal.’’
Caggiula remains out
Wing Drake Caggiula missed his second consecutive game with concussion-like symptoms, and Colliton has yet to offer any update on his timetable.
Caggiula presumably was concussed during the Hawks’ game last Sunday against the Maple Leafs, but signs didn’t appear until before the morning skate Wednesday in Las Vegas.
‘‘It just shows how little we know about concussions,’’ Colliton said Friday.
