Nashville 6, St. Louis 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 4, 2024
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Steve Kozari, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen:
Bevan Mills, James Tobias
Attendance:
17420
By Field Level Media
Filip Forsberg scored twice in a three-point game to pace the host Nashville Predators to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday that snapped a three-game skid and strengthened their playoff chances.
Roman Josi, Anthony Beauvillier, Michael McCarron and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Predators (44-28-4, 92 points), who hold the Western Conference's first wild-card spot.
Goaltender Juuse Saros sparkled with 44 saves, while Gustav Nyquist collected three assists, including the 300th of his career. Ryan O'Reilly added two assists for the Predators.
Brandon Saad, Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues (40-32-4, 84 points), who are clinging to their flickering playoff hopes with only six games remaining. Goalie Jordan Binnington stopped 25 shots and Justin Faulk had two assists.
The Predators swept the season series between the Central Division rivals, winning all three meetings.
Forsberg's power-play goal 73 seconds into the second period broke a 1-1 tie. Upon getting the puck in the right circle, he unloaded a shot from the faceoff dot that ricocheted off Robert Thomas' stick en route to the goal.
Beauvillier notched another man-advantage marker with 31 seconds remaining in the second period to extend Nashville's lead. He scored his first goal since being acquired at the trade deadline, and fifth of the season, by pouncing on a loose puck during a flurry.
McCarron made it a 4-1 game at 4:09 of the third period when he took advantage of a Torey Krug giveaway to score his 12th of the season.
To their credit, the Blues battled back. After Neighbours notched his 27th of the season a little more than two minutes later with a shot off the rush, Kyrou netted a power-play goal, his 26th of the season, with 2:15 on the clock to make it a one-goal game.
However, Forsberg collected his career-best 43rd goal of the season with the first of his team's two empty-net goals. Jankowski rounded out the scoring.
The clubs traded first-period goals, with Josi netting his 20th of the season 31 seconds into the clash and Saad responding with his 26th of the campaign -- and sixth in seven outings -- at 7:27 of the opening frame.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| St. Louis |
|
Nashville |
|
Justin Faulk 2 |
Points |
Filip Forsberg 3 |
|
Jordan Kyrou 1 |
Goals |
Filip Forsberg 2 |
|
Justin Faulk 2 |
Assists |
Gustav Nyquist 3 |
|
Jordan Kyrou 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Filip Forsberg 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Mark Jankowski 1 |
|
Jordan Binnington .862 |
Save Percentage |
Juuse Saros .936 |
|
Jordan Binnington 25 |
Saves |
Juuse Saros 44 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| St. Louis
|
47 |
3 |
1-6 |
1-3 |
10 |
27 |
| Nashville
|
31 |
6 |
2-3 |
5-6 |
16 |
33 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Predators have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .545 after a loss.
-
St. Louis will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Blues have a W/L % of .439 after a win and .629 after a loss.
For more information, contact us