Refreshing development

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville made it very clear what was needed from his team to even its Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Nashville Predators.

''We're asking everybody to add a little more to what we did [Friday] night -- knowing that it wasn't good enough,'' he said.

That meant playing a full 60 minutes, being physical in all areas, getting as much traffic as possible in front of Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne and converting on the power play.

And although Game 2 at times felt a lot like their Game 1 defeat, the Hawks were able to accomplish most of what was needed for a 2-0 win against the Predators on Sunday night at the United Center.

Antti Niemi made 23 saves for the Hawks' first playoff shutout since Ed Belfour in 1996. Patrick Kane scored and had an assist, and Dave Bolland had a power-play goal as the Hawks evened the series at 1-1.

''We went in hungry,'' said captain Jonathan Toews, who also had an assist. ''It was kind of shocking a little bit to not come out on top in that first game. We wanted to get a better start in Game 1, especially at home with our crowd. We wanted to take advantage of those games here, and we expected to win that first one.

''Coming out of that, we knew there were a lot of things that we could do better. As individuals, every guy looked at themselves and knew that there were some things we could each do better. We all showed up to play tonight and chipped in.''

No player showed up more than Niemi. As in Game 1, the Predators were able to maintain pressure in the attacking zone, especially early in the second period, and the Hawks struggled to clear the puck.

But Niemi showed no signs of being affected by the Friday loss by turning away the Predators every time Sunday, including tough stops on Dustin Boyd and Jordin Tootoo.

''Antti came up with some critical saves,'' Quenneville said.

Three penalties helped negate any steam the Predators had in the second period as Bolland scored at 8:44 on the power play. It was important that the Hawks took advantage, especially since during 5-on-5 play the Predators were able to fend off most attacks with their trap system and continued to cycle the puck well offensively.

''They play a pinching game and just wait for us to make mistakes,'' Bolland said. ''They were ... taking it to us.

''In all these series, PP goals are the ones that get you ahead. ... That's where you have to capitalize.''

Kane scored the all-important second goal just over four minutes into the third period, and the Hawks needed a strong penalty-killing effort to put away the Preds, who won Game 1 with a strong third.

''We were focused and ready to go before that third,'' Toews said. ''We were very conscious of what happened last game going in with a 1-0 lead.''

The Predators played without leading scorer Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed injury).

3 KEYS TO GAME 2

The recovery

Antti Niemi rebounded from the Hawks' defeat in Game 1 by posting a 23-save shutout. He was hard on himself after Friday's loss, especially after allowing a game-tying goal that he called ''terrible.''

''He proved himself tonight,'' captain Jonathan Toews said. ''From now on, he can just go out there and relax and play just like the rest of us.''

the positioning

Like the first game, the Predators were able to maintain consistent pressure in the Hawks' zone. But like coach Joel Quenneville said after Game 1, the Hawks needed to be comfortable that their defensive positioning would nullify it -- and it did. The Predators didn't have too many second chances.

The kill

The Hawks killed off two power plays in the third period, including a 6-on-4 advantage when Pekka Rinne was pulled from the net.

''We kind of got in a little bit of penalty trouble there,'' said defenseman Duncan Keith, who was in the penalty box

for one of them. ''The penalty killing did a great job, and Niemi was there to make the big save when we needed

him to.''

Adam L. Jahns

Photo: Tom Cruze, Sun-Times / Hawks goaltender Antti Niemi stretches to thwart a third-period shot attempt by the Predators' Colin Wilson (right) on Sunday night.