Blues at Predators
After staving off elimination with a narrow victory, the St. Louis Blues now face another win-or-go-home scenario when they visit the Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Blues rebounded from consecutive losses in Nashville with a 2-1 win on Friday and trail the best-of-seven series 3-2.
Jaden Schwartz delivered the tiebreaking goal in the first minute of the third period in Game 5 for St. Louis, which scored one goal in each road loss to the Predators - owners of a spotless 4-0 record in Nashville during the postseason. "We know that we’re going to have to be even better next game," Blues coach Mike Yeo told reporters. "We lost home-ice along the way here, so we have to find a way to win a game in their building and we know it won’t be an easy challenge for us, but we’ll be up for it.” The Predators have allowed a combined five goals in their four wins at Bridgestone Arena and another victory will send them to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. “There’s pressure on both teams," Nashville defenseman Roman Josi told reporters. "Both teams want to win. It’s going to be a huge game for both teams on Sunday."
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE BLUES: Alexander Steen has been ailing throughout the playoffs, unable to practice, and was a late scratch before Friday's game which opened the door for Dmitrij Jaskin to make his first appearance in this postseason. Jaskin made the most of his opportunity, not only opening the scoring with a second-period goal but registering a game-high eight shots on goal. "We felt confident that he would go in and play a really good game," Yeo said of Jaskin, who had only one goal during the regular season. "I thought he was a force along the walls on both ends and a difference maker."
ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Nashville's No. 1 line of Ryan Johansen and 31-goal scorers Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg were dominant in a first-round sweep of top-seeded Chicago, combining for 15 points in the stunning upset. The unit has pretty much been kept in check by St. Louis, managing a total of three points - getting zero production from Arvidsson and one point from Johansen. “We’ve got to play faster, my line specifically," said Johansen, who is scoreless in the past four games. "We’ve got to find ways to make plays, use our speed more and our size and hold onto pucks.”
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis continues to struggle on the power play and is 2-for-29 in the postseason.
2. Predators F James Neal has come alive of late with three goals in the past four games, including one in back-to-back contests.
3. Blues G Jake Allen has lost his last four starts in Nashville, including Games 3 and 4.