Stamkos Passes Robitaille as Predators Shut Down Blues for Fourth Straight Win
A record-setting power-play goal and a suffocating middle period carried Nashville to a 3-1 win over St. Louis at Bridgestone Arena.
Nashville's November surge is starting to look like more than a hot week. The Predators beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena for a fourth straight victory, and the game doubled as a history night for Steven Stamkos.
A milestone answer
St. Louis struck first when Jimmy Snuggerud — the Blues' leading goal scorer with nine this season — buried a power-play one-timer at 13:07 of the first period. That alone was notable: Nashville came in with the NHL's third-ranked penalty kill at 90 percent and had not allowed a power-play goal in its previous seven games.
Stamkos answered on the Predators' own power play with 3:53 left in the period, wristing a rebound into an open net. It was the 248th power-play goal of his career, moving him past Luc Robitaille for sole possession of fifth place in NHL history. "It's contagious," Stamkos said of the confidence running through the lineup, per NHL.com.
The quiet period that decided it
Ross Colton put Nashville ahead at 9:02 of the second with a wrist shot from the high slot, set up by Jack Drury — Colton has now scored in three straight games, matching his career best. From there the Blues faded, managing just six shots on goal in the middle frame, and Nick Perbix sealed it into an empty net with 1:29 remaining.
Juuse Saros finished with 25 saves; Joel Hofer stopped 26 for St. Louis. Roman Josi added two assists and sits one point shy of 800 for his career.
What it means
Nashville improved to 8-4-5 and has found a formula built on special teams and depth scoring rather than star volume. St. Louis fell to 7-8-2 and is winless in three (0-2-1), with head coach Jim Montgomery blunt about the effort: "We need to be better." The Blues host Detroit on Tuesday, while the Predators visit Los Angeles.