Chicago Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen entered Saturday’s road game against the Nashville Predators with just 19 games left to make his case for the permanent job.

The Hawks’ third-period rally to force overtime didn’t hurt his cause, though they lost 3-2 on Steven Stamkos’ goal to cap a hat trick.

It was the Hawks’ third straight overtime game; they lost two.

If you’re looking for signs of progress, the Hawks have earned a point in five straight games, a season high. Their record is 3-0-2 in that span.

It’s not another moral victory, more of a consolation prize. And it’s certainly better than the alternative.

“I think we’re all just playing for each other,” said Alex Vlasic, who scored the opening goal. “Having the young guys here has helped a lot and bring that energy.

“It feels like a different environment.”

Sorensen said the goalie play from Arvid Söderblom, Saturday’s starter, and Spencer Knight has been a big reason as well.

“We’ve been able to hang around in the games because of the goaltending,” Sorensen said. “But also, we’ve made some plays when games are tight; been able to score some goals there.”

Ilya MIkheyev scored in the third period — his 14th of the season — on a low-to-high feed from Ryan Donato to force overtime.

Donato extended his point streak to eight games, and Mikheyev scored his fourth goal in six games.

Column: Are the Chicago Blackhawks finally ready to dive into the deep end of the free-agent and trade pools?

However, the Hawks squandered opportunities to put the game away in OT — they never took a shot. And the Preds caught the Hawks in a bad change when Donato went off for Joe Veleno, playing his first game with his new team.

It put Söderblom in a three-on-two situation, and Fedor Svechkov fed Stamkos for the game-winning slapper from the left circle.

“I saw (Stamkos) coming down there for a one-timer option, but I also had to respect the shooter in the middle (Svechov),” Söderblom said. “That’s my first option and then he made a good pass on a one-timer. Just try to get over as quick as possible, but he obviously is a good shooter, so he found the top corner.”

Here are four takeaways from the loss.

1. It was a shame to waste another solid goalie effort.

Yes, Söderblom is ultimately responsible as the last line of defense, but how many ways did the Hawks let him down?

• They started slow, with the Preds taking an 8-2 advantage in five-on-five, high-danger chances in the first period. “First period was sleepy or tired or a combination of two,” Sorensen said.
• Nick Foligno turned the puck over while trying to rim the puck, setting up Stamkos’ second goal. Foligno snapped his stick on the post in frustration.
• The Hawks were outshot 41-19.

At least Söderblom added to his highlight reel.

He made a diving backdoor save against Jonathan Marchessault in the first period. And in the third, Söderblom stopped Filip Forsberg’s shot, then spun and dove on the puck after it bounced over his head.

Ultimately, Söderblom was done in by the aforementioned bad change.

“It’s more so just understanding that the marginals (margins of error) to give up some stuff, when it’s three-on-three, it becomes greater, right?” Sorensen said. “So puck decisions and those tight one-on-ones, or if it’s two-on-ones, and not getting stuck on the ice, are big components.”

2. Colton Dach fighting in defense of Nazar speaks volumes.

Justin Barron crushed Nazar into the boards, and Dach pounced on Barron in what became a lopsided throwdown.

It was reminiscent of Donato going after the Calgary Flames’ Martin Pospisil for tuning up Nazar in December. As Vlasic alluded to earlier, the younger players are taking more ownership of the team, as evidenced by situations such as this.

Column: Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson made the right trade-deadline deals. Now it’s time for a bold move.

“Everybody’s playing for each other and putting their bodies in the line,” Vlasic said. “Great fight from Dacher tonight, stepping up for Frank. There’s kind of that brotherhood mentality that we’ve got going on.”

For those keeping score, however, Pat Maroon (six) and Foligno (four) still top the leaderboard in fighting penalties.

3. In Connor Bedard’s and Landon Slaggert’s game of hot potato, nobody won.

It made for a head-scratching sequence in the third period.

Nazar passed cross-ice to Bedard, but instead taking the backdoor shot, Bedard gave it up to Slaggert.

Slaggert didn’t pull the trigger, either, dishing it back to Bedard, who flubbed the shot.

Bedard should’ve taken advantage of his first opening, absolutely. But when he drew defenders and passed it back to Slaggert, then it became Slaggert’s responsibility.

4. Joe Veleno handled his first Hawks game well.

The forward was acquired in Friday’s deal that sent Petr Mrázek and forward Craig Smith to the Detroit Red Wings. Veleno slotted in on the fourth line, replacing Smith and centering Lukas Reichel and Maroon.

Veleno finished 50% on faceoffs and seemed to acclimate quickly to the penalty kill, the best-run system the Hawks have.

“He had some pop in his step,” Sorensen said. “He was in good spots defensively. He read the game well. He had some good offensive zone touches as well.”