Rugged Desjardins delivers spark

Scott Darling in net wasn't the only lineup switch that paid off for Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on Sunday at the United Center.

Quenneville also dressed forwards Antoine Vermette and Andrew Desjardins, who each made positive impacts in the Hawks' 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 3 of their first-round series.

Desjardins, acquired at the trade deadline from San Jose, was second in shots (4) and scored the game's first goal. Vermette, acquired at the trade deadline from Arizona, centered the third line and finished with a plus-1 rating. Center Andrew Shaw played right wing on the fourth line, joining Desjardins and Marcus Kruger to form one of the Hawks' most effective forward groups.

"We just try to bring that grit every shift," Desjardins said. "I think if we can create turnovers that way, that's going to help the team out."

That's exactly what they did. They nearly created a goal for Shaw 5:56 into the game, and Desjardins later gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the first with more effort. After his initial shot was blocked, he quickly scooped up the puck for another shot that slid between goalie Pekka Rinne's pads.

The lead was shortlived after Mike Ribeiro tied it 31 seconds later, but it was still significant. It was only the second lead of the series for the Hawks, whose only previous advantage was at the end of Game 1 in double overtime.

"That was a really important first goal," Marian Hossa said. "(Desjardins) just jumped into Game 3 and I think had a really strong game for us. Guys like that give us more energy and he's a guy who plays a physical game and that kind of brings energy."

Duncan Keith described Desjardins another way.

"He brings a bit of ruggedness to the team," Keith said. "He scored a big goal and (that was) a big spark."

It wasn't a perfect day for Desjardins or his line.

Desjardins and Shaw were on the ice for both Predators' goals, and Kruger's decision to leave the ice for a change led to Ribeiro's goal. Desjardins also lost a faceoff in the defensive zone and failed to block the shot Mattias Ekholm scored off in the second, but the positives in his game far outweighed the negative.

The same could be said for the line as a whole, which played without Joakim Nordstrom and Teuvo Teravainen this time. It's unclear whether the unit will stay the same for Game 4 on Thursday. Quenneville even said veteran Dan Carcillo - who skated on his own Sunday - is "back and healthy," so he might soon be an option.

"I think that (fourth) line's had a lot of different looks over the last part of the season," Quenneville said. "In this series, they've had a lot of responsibility that line. There's nothing wrong when you've got some physicality in that area and you've got some offensive ability as well when you're playing against top lines, because the quality's enhanced at the other end."