Blackhawks confident even with 0-2 deficit

NASHVILLE, TENN. >> The Blackhawks know one thing with an absolute certainty: They must play better.

Scoring their first goal against Pekka Rinne this postseason would be a good start.

Instead, the Western Conference’s top seed trails the Nashville Predators, 0-2, and looks nothing like the team favored to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

“I think we all thought the series would be in a different place right now,” Chicago forward Patrick Kane said.

The Predators are the fifth team in NHL history to start a postseason with back-to-back road shutouts, the first since Toronto in 2001, according to Elias Sports.

Nashville also is just the third in league history to post consecutive playoff shutouts in Chicago, joining the 1960 Canadiens and 2002 Blues.

St. Louis took that series 4-1.

“It’s a tough hole to be in right now,” Kane said. “We can learn from these games, make the necessary adjustments. We’ve been a good road team all year, so hopefully that comes into play here. I don’t think we need to lose confidence or swagger or anything like that. Bring that next game.”

Washington lost homeice advantage on Kasperi Kapanen’s double overtime winner in Game 2 , but coach Barry Trotz and his players aren’t in panic mode. At least not yet.

Trotz is considering some lineup adjustments going into Game 3 on April 17. Washington is not in a hole like Chicago, but it’s not all rosy for the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

“We’ve responded all year to any adversity we’ve had this year,” Trotz said on a conference call Sunday. “We’ll get things corrected, we’ll be better. It’s more of a marathon than a sprint and there’s no easy games in the playoffs and there will be adjustments.”