Predators at Blues
The Blues will be looking for some payback on their home ice against Nashville on Friday night after the Predators spoiled Craig Berube’s head coaching debut by defeating St. Louis 4-1 on Wednesday. Nashville enters the game with the league’s best record (16-5-1) behind stellar play from reigning Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne, who made 28 saves for the Predators Wednesday.
St. Louis is looking to be revitalized after replacing Mike Yeo with Berube, as only the Los Angeles Kings have fewer points this season (15) than the Blues (17). “There was emotion in the game, brought some fire in our belly,” St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn told reporters. “If we do that for the next 60 (games), we’ll like the results most nights.” Rinne recorded the 320th victory of his career Wednesday, passing Miikka Kiprusoff to become the winningest Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history. The 36-year-old netminder is leading the NHL in goals against average (1.64) and save percentage (.944), and sits tied for fourth with nine wins in just 13 starts.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (16-5-1): Nashville got shorthanded goals from defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Filip Forsberg on Wednesday, moving Nashville into a tie for second in the league with four on the season. The Predators are piling up wins despite having the league’s second-worst power play (13.1 percent), scoring only 11 with the man advantage in their 22 games. Forsberg’s goal was his 14th of the season, putting him in a tie for fourth in the league - three behind Boston’s David Pastrnak for the top spot.
ABOUT THE BLUES (7-10-3): Robert Thomas, a 19-year-old rookie forward, scored his first NHL goal in Berube’s debut - snapping a two-game scoreless streak for the Blues that lasted over 135 minutes. “It’s obviously frustrating,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo told NHL.com regarding his team’s lack of scoring. “We had some really good looks offensively. I think if we start scoring those, you start feeling the puck, you start creating a bit more pressure.” The Blues top three scorers from a season ago - Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz - have combined for just 12 goals this season after potting 85 combined in 2017-18.
OVERTIME
1. Nashville C Frederick Gaudreau scored three goals in eight contests during the 2016-17 playoffs, but recorded his first regular-season goal on Wednesday in his 42nd game.
2. The Predators are 12-0-0 this season when scoring first.
3. St. Louis has not recorded a power-play goal in its last seven games and is 0-for-18 over that span.