Nashville Predators snap five-game losing streak with win over the St. Louis Blues
After losing five straight games the Nashville Predators finally got a win with a 3-2 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday 11 November.
How it happened
The St. Louis Blues, who had been stone cold on defence for most of the season, were looking to bounce back after the 8-1 pasting they received at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although they
didn't get the kind of goaltending heroics they've become accustomed to, Jaroslav Halak did put in a more solid performance to at least keep the game competitive.
St. Louis started the scoring late in the first period when David Backes scored his second of the season. It was Backes who fired the decisive shot after the Blues had fired several pucks at the Nashville
net.
Cal O'Reilly scored his third of the season, and the only goal of the second period to tie the game 1-1.
Matt D'Agostini scored his sixth of the season to put the Blues up 2-1, but J.P. Dumont scored his second of the year to tie things up at 2-2 and send the game to overtime.
With no goals in the extra frame, the game went to a shootout. After each team scored on their first shot, the second and third shooters for both teams then missed, sending it to sudden death. After Patrik
Berglund missed for the Blues, Marcel Goc stepped up and fired home the winning shot for the Predators.
What they're saying
The Predators, finally got a win on the road after losing the previous four.
"We hadn't won in awhile, so you know you're always wondering if you have much confidence," Predators coach Barry Trotz told reporters after the game. "We were fortunate to win it in the shootout so we'll
take the win. It's never easy for us and it hasn't been in this last little while."
Although they lost the game, Blues coach Davis Payne was happy that his team were able to rebound after being pounded the night before.
"We got our game to the right place tonight," he said. "I think we were much quicker through the neutral zone but most importantly, we handled their forecheck early. I thought it was a big key for our
club to handle what we didn't handle (Wednesday) night."
After playing five-straight games on the road, the Predators will head home for their next game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday 13 November, before heading out on the road again for another
four games.
The Blues head back out on the road as they get set to take on the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.
Tags: