The Nashville Predators (25-33-8, 58 points) kick off a three-game home stand when they host the St. Louis Blues (33-28-7, 73 points) Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.
The Blues are currently in fifth place in the Central Divsion, eight points behind the Minnesota Wild. They are also tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, though Vancouver holds the tiebreaker.
Predators forward and alternate captain Filip Forsberg enters play on an eight-game home point streak against the Blues dating back to Nov. 21, 2018 (5-8—13). He has posted just one longer run in his career against a single opponent (11 games vs. CBJ; active).
Tuesday’s matchup marks Michael Bunting’s first game at Bridgestone Arena as a member of the home team. The forward, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the March 7 NHL traded deadline, made his Predators debut Friday on the road against the Anaheim Ducks after being activated off of IR (appendectomy).
Juuse Saros – playing in his 400th career NHL game – will get the start in goal for Nashville, while the Blues are expected to go with backup goaltender Joel Hofer against the Predators.
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
How the Predators Lined Up vs. St. Louis
Forsberg-O’Reilly-StamkosBunting-Sissons-MarchessaultL’Heureux-Svechkov-EvangelistaBellows-McCarron-SmithSkjei-BlankenburgDel Gaizo-StastneyEnglund-BarronSarosAnnunenExtra: Oesterle, Vrana
IR: Lauzon, Wilsby, Josi
Predators vs. Blues: Live Updates
First Period (STL 2, NSH 0)
The Predators got into some early penalty trouble when Zach L’Heureux was whistled for tripping at the 4:42 mark of the first period. St. Louis made their power play opportunity count, with Justin Faulk scoring on a one-timer at the 6:04 mark.
The Blues padded their lead in the final minutes of the period when Jake Neighbours received a pass off the rush from Faulk and Robert Thomas, went forehand-to-backhand and tucked the puck behind Saros to make it 2-0 at the 18:15 mark.
Second Period (STL 3, NSH 1)
There were some fireworks early in the second period, when Michael McCarron laid a huge hit on Pavel Buchnevich behind the St. Louis net. Neighbours came to Buchnevich’s defense and dropped the gloves with McCarron, who quickly took him down in the scrap.
McCarron was called for a five-minute major for the hit on Buchnevich, and the call was upheld after official review. As a result, McCarron was assessed a game misconduct, as well as an additional five minutes for fighting. Neighbours got two for roughing and five for fighting, and Buchnevich exited the game with members of the Blues’ training staff.
With just over a minute remaining in the frame, Jordan Kyrou caught Saros out of position in the crease and beat him with a near side shot to extend St. Louis’ lead to 3-0.
Brady Skjei played spoiler to the Blues’ shutout bid with a buzzer beater at the `19:59 mark of the second period. Steven Stamkos collected the loose puck along the boards and found Skjei high in the slot for the one-timer to cut Nashville’s deficit to 3-1 just as time expired.
Third Period (STL 4, NSH 1)
Kyrou scored his second of the night at the 13:45 mark of the third period, finishing off a 2-on-1 with Holloway following a defensive zone face-off to make it 4-1, Blues.
