With backs against wall, Hawks try to move past brutal Game 3 loss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - If nothing else, at least the Blackhawks are still able to laugh.

"We did a good job as a team getting our mind off hockey and taking a day to rest our bodies," captain Jonathan Toews said of how the Hawks spent their day off Tuesday. "A lot of that is having fun, joking around and just enjoy being with each other in the locker room despite our situation.

"We're still here, we're still alive and have a chance to win tomorrow night's game, and that's what we're going to focus on."

The Hawks, who have had a difficult time coming up with loose pucks against the Predators, began their spirited practice Wednesday by working on 1-on-1 battle drills against the boards. They then went into a series of rush drills against their goalies, hoping to ratchet up their speed game to match Nashville's turbocharged lineup for their do-or-die Game 4 on Thursday.

"We had good pace out there today," said coach Joel Quenneville. "You know we've come back from all different scenarios and some awful spots. This might be the worst spot we've ever been in.

"To find a way to get back into it is you have to look at the real short term and small picture and try to get (the) momentum back.

"We really let one slip away. It was a brutal loss."

Quenneville might play defenseman Michal Kempny, who worked with Brent Seabrook at practice, in favor of Johnny Oduya in Game 4.

"We'll see," Quenneville said.

Can't look back:

The Blackhawks won their last four meetings against the Predators in the regular season, but Jonathan Toews said it wouldn't help to go back and watch what went right in those games.

"I mean, you tell me if you're watching the regular-season games compared to what this series looks like. I don't know if there is a comparison," Toews said. "Obviously the level is completely different.

"They're working, they have a game plan where they know they can try and frustrate us and make things difficult on us, which to a certain degree they've done a good job of that. It's up to us to rise to the occasion and be better than we have been. ...

"I don't think you can really compare what two teams did … in the regular season as opposed to now. Obviously they've done a good job of forgetting that as well."

Crowd control:

When coach Joel Quenneville was asked what kind of boost the Predators get from playing at home, he pointed out that fans in every packed arena do a good job of pumping up their team during the playoffs. He also was quick to add that the Hawks have often thrived in hostile environments, with the two best examples coming in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final at Philadelphia and Game 6 of the 2015 Final at Boston.

"We've been in some real loud buildings and some real tough stages against us and found a way to silence as early or as quickly as you could and … to not let it bother us," said Quenneville, adding that raucous arenas have even served as a motivator. "We've been finding ways, especially in that environment, where it's not a distraction at all."