No kidding around: Hawks put forth better effort in rematch with Predators

It was a tough night in Nashville for just about all the Blackhawks on Tuesday when they dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime.

A seething Jeremy Colliton gave blunt answers to questions about the mistake-prone Nikita Zadorov, the gun-shy Patrick Kane and the miscommunication in overtime that led to the winning goal.

Credit Colliton for some rare emotion after that performance. In the big picture, he obviously understands the Hawks will go through growing pains as they attempt to build from the ground up.

But that doesn't mean he's going to give a free pass when they're sloppy, undisciplined and weak on the puck.

After all, it's difficult to grow a winning culture if you treat pros with kid gloves.

"We're trying to set a standard for how we're going to act and how we're going to play," Colliton said. "If we don't do it every night, then it's going to be hard.

"We're trying to set a foundation for long-term success. As a group we all want the same thing - to be competitive this year and show that we can do more than people on the outside say we can do."

Despite falling 2-1 in a shootout, the Hawks responded to Colliton's message with a much better effort in a rematch with the Predators on Wednesday.

Ryan Carpenter scored the Hawks' only goal - his first of the season - with 10:36 remaining. It came exactly four minutes after Nick Cousins scored for the Predators (4-3-0).

Kevin Lankinen turned in another outstanding performance in net, stopping 41 shots. Three came in a four-second span during a Predators power play early in the second period.

Only Matt Duchene converted in the shootout as Hawks forwards Dominik Kubalik, Patrick Kane and Mattias Janmark all missed on their attempts.

The Hawks (2-3-3) had their chances in overtime, but Kane missed a wide-open net in the first minute, and Janmark couldn't connect on three different occasions.

Kane, who didn't fire a single shot Tuesday, was much more engaged and finished with 13 attempts (4 on goal) in 27.5 minutes.

Brandon Hagel and David Kampf assisted on Carpenter's goal. It was Hagel's first NHL point in his fifth appearance.

Carpenter has been part of an impressive, hardworking fourth line that has held down opponents' top players for much of the season. His goal against the Predators was also a blue-collar effort as he stayed with a loose puck in front of the net and finally got it past goalie Juuse Saros.

"Any time you can contribute as a fourth line, it feels good," Carpenter said.

The 30-year-old veteran, in his second year with the Hawks, said the entire team heard Colliton's message after Tuesday's loss loud and clear.

"He got the point across," Carpenter said. "He wasn't the only guy that was frustrated. As players we knew it wasn't good enough. We're pros on this team and we knew we had to respond. (This) was a lot better of a game.

"They had their spurts where they were taking it to us, but we were battling a lot harder and getting under sticks and boxing out and doing those little things that it takes to win."

Said Colliton: "Liked the response today and now we've got to follow it up with another professional performance."

The next chance for that comes when Columbus - and the newly acquired Patrik Laine - invades the United Center on Friday.