Saros, Special Teams Lift Predators to 6-3 Win Over Blues

Facing a desperate St. Louis Blues team and looking to snap a three-game skid, the Nashville Predators found a way and earned 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

“It wasn’t our best effort,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Credit to [St. Louis]. They were a little bit more of a desperate team and it took us a while to get going. We were on our heels a lot of the night, but we got great goaltending and special teams stepped up and gave us a chance to win the game.”

Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist and matched the franchise’s single-season goals record, but it was goaltender Juuse Saros and the special teams units who carried Nashville to the win. In an inverse from their last two games, the Predators' special teams units picked up the slack where the team's even-strength play was lacking.

Entering the game without a power-play goal in their last nine chances, the Predators went 2-for-3 on the man advantage against St. Louis. Nashville’s penalty kill also came up big at key moments, going 5-for-6 against the Blues.

“I thought we just moved the puck quicker and we won some battles,” said Predators captain Roman Josi, who opened the scoring against St. Louis with his 20th goal of the season . “I felt like a couple of times they had a chance to clear it, but our forwards did an amazing job getting in there and winning the battle and getting the puck back. And I think if you do that, you're going to create chances… We moved around, got some shots and that's how you break teams down.”

The Predators struggled a bit more at even strength and were outshot 47-31, including 20-10 in the first period alone. Saros stood tall, though, making 44 saves on the night to establish a new season high.

"I thought he was outstanding," Brunette said. "He gave us every chance possible."

Overall, the Predators didn't love their game on Thursday, but they found a way to come out on top. The win showed maturity and resilience – important qualities in a playoff team.

“We don’t want to put ourselves in that spot where we’ve got almost 40 shots against after two periods, [Saros] is playing his butt off and the penalty kill was great,” Forsberg said. “But we did. Guys showed up and stepped up in key moments of the game. Obviously, the third period was good. It was really good. I think we took it to them a little bit there.”

The Predators will return to action on Saturday, when they visit the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.