Kane getting his groove back in playoffs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Patrick Kane admitted it. In his first game action in almost two months, he definitely felt rusty.

The evidence was right there for all to see during the first period of the Hawks' 4-3 double-OT victory over Nashville Wednesday as he was stripped of the puck trying to carry it over the blue line. About two minutes later, he then inexplicably lost the puck near center ice, springing Colin Wilson, who fired a shot that was deflected by Corey Crawford.

"The whole thing was just with timing, whether it's with the puck or seeing certain plays," Kane said. "Maybe just little things like presenting yourself for getting a pass and getting a chance to get the puck in good space."

Then Kane found his footing, and he helped the Hawks mount an impressive comeback from the 3-0 first-period hole they'd dug themselves in Game 1.

First, with the Hawks on a two-man advantage, Kane fed Patrick Sharp, who banged home his own rebound to cut Nashville's lead to 3-2. Kane then assisted on Jonathan Toews' power-play goal, setting up the Hawks' captain just a few feet away from goalie Pekka Rinne. Toews walked right in and stuffed it into the net.

"He's a great puck-holder, he always wants it," Sharp said. "He's making good plays when he gets it most of the time. He's a huge lift to have back in the lineup."

Especially when you consider how abysmal (7-for-52) the power play was in his absence. Kane logged nearly six of his 23 minutes with the man advantage.

"Top guys in the league have real good patience level with the puck, good play recognition," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "He saves a lot of those loose-puck battles and sustains a lot of presence in the offensive zone. Play recognition is high-end.

"I think he gives our opponents more to think about as well. … He can open up other areas if they want to keep a closer eye on him."

Kane, out since Feb. 24, was asked if it wasn't exactly ideal to play a game that stretched to two overtimes.

"You don't really expect something like that your first game back, but you don't know what's going to happen in the playoffs," he said.

"It took five periods to win. I was just trying to hang in there, kind of wait my turn and help the team the best I could."

Tip-ins:

Don't expect to see Antoine Vermette on the ice for Game 2 as coach Joel Quenneville said it was unlikely the Hawks would make any lineup changes. … Nashville's penalty kill was just 6-for-10 in the final five games of the regular season and the struggles continued in Game 1 as the Hawks converted on 2 of 6 attempts. … Brad Richards was most effective on faceoffs Wednesday, winning 10 of 18 chances (56 percent). Jonathan Toews, Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger all won less than 40 percent of their draws.

He said it:

"I lost it in traffic. It ended up in the net. It is frustrating. It's just the way it goes."

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne on Duncan Keith's game-winner in double OT.

He said it, II

"We started taking penalties. We can't be doing that, especially when we're up 3-0."

Predators defenseman Shea Weber.