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Predators remain wary of Hawks

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Do the Predators have the Blackhawks frustrated?

Probably.

Do they think they have a stranglehold on the best-of-seven series?

No way.

The Predators are taking nothing for granted against a Hawks team that racked up 112 points during the regular season.

"They're a young team, but they've done this before," said Nashville center David Legwand after his goal and 2 assists led Nashville to its 4-1 win on Tuesday in Game 3, putting the Preds up 2-1 in the series.

"They've done this before and been through their battles, and that's big for them. I think they're going to stay pretty calm."

The Predators outshot the Hawks 35-27, frustrating one of the top offenses in the NHL during the regular season.

"That kind of team, even though they're young, they still have experience," Predators goalie Pekka Rinne said. "I don't know if they got frustrated. They still kept coming.

"I'm sure they're going to come hard next game, but we shouldn't worry about that too much. We just have to worry about our own game and our own effort and not get too comfortable here."

Rinne outplayed Antti Niemi for the second time in two games largely because the Hawks couldn't get into the scoring areas because of the strong Nashville defensive effort.

"That was the best game for us in this series, just a solid game," Rinne said. "They have such good players, but we were able to limit their chances to only a few. That was a great job by us."

Hornqvist out again: With Patric Hornqvist banged up and sitting for the second straight game, the Predators were missing their best forward at doing the dirty work around the net.

"Patric's a little bit of a unique player, and someone has to take the ball that he usually carries, which is net presence and power play and finding loose pucks and going to those hard areas on a very consistent basis," Predators coach Barry Trotz said before Game 3.

"He's a dangerous player, much like (Tomas) Holmstrom in Detroit," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

Rough night: It wasn't the greatest night for a lot of Hawks, starting with defensemen Dustin Byfuglien (minus-1) and Jordan Hendry and winger Troy Brouwer (minus-1 in just seven minutes).

The Hawks were outhit 32-18, and it'll be interesting to see if Joel Quenneville tweaks his lineup for Game 4 on Thursday, perhaps finding a spot for Adam Burish.

"Certainly tonight we can't be pleased with the way we played," Quenneville said. "We know that each and every game it's going to escalate and today, for whatever reason, we didn't achieve what we wanted to."

Tip-ins: The Hawks were 1-for-4 on the power play, the Predators 0-for-5. - Brian Campbell is getting closer to playing, although it's unknown if it might be as soon as Game 4 on Thursday.

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