Tarasenko tallies twice as Blues even series
ST. LOUIS -- Vladimir Tarasenko scored his second goal of the game with 3:51 to play in the third period to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win Friday night over the Nashville Predators.
St. Louis evened its Western Conference second-round series at one victory apiece with Nashville, which sustained its first loss of the postseason.
The series shifts to Nashville for Game 3 on Sunday.
Tarasenko, who had scored only one goal in the Blues' first six playoff games, snapped a 2-2 tie when a pass from Jaden Schwartz deflected off the skate of Joel Edmundson. The puck caromed to the stick of Tarasenko, who wired a shot past goalie Pekka Rinne, who made 17 saves in the game
The goal was the 22nd in 40 career playoff games for Tarasenko, who also scored on a power play late in the first period.
Ryan Ellis had put the Predators in front 2-1 when he intercepted a pass from Vladimir Sobotka and fired the puck past goalie Jake Allen 3:07 into the third period.
Allen made 22 saves in the game.
The Blues, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie Game 1 in the third period, responded again with Jori Lehtera getting his first goal of the playoffs. Lehtera won a battle for a loose puck in front of the net, at 7:39 to tie the game 2-2.
The Blues also had come back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the game.
For the second consecutive game, the Predators scored first. After a Blues turnover, James Neal deflected a shot by Ellis at 7:49 of the first period. The goal was the first in this year's playoffs for Neal and came on only the second shot on goal by Nashville.
A major penalty against Vernon Fiddler for kneeing the Blues' Colton Parayko put the Blues on the power play with 1:32 left in the period, and Tarasenko tied the game with his second goal of the playoffs with 20 seconds left in the period.
The goal was his first on a power play in the playoffs since the opening round last year against Chicago.
The Blues had 3:28 left in the penalty when the second period opened, but only managed one shot on goal before the penalty expired. Another missed chance later in the period left the Blues with just two power play goals in 19 chances so far in the playoffs.
NOTES: C Vernon Fiddler, who scored the game-winning goal in Game 1, also received a game misconduct penalty along with the kneeing major in the first period. ... LW Ivan Barbashev was inserted into the Blues' lineup in place of LW Magnus Paajarvi. Barbashev, a healthy scratch in the last two games, skated on a line with C Jori Lehtera and RW Vladimir Sobotka. ... The Predators replaced LW Kevin Fiala (broken leg) with C Calle Jarnkrok, who had been out with an undisclosed injury. Fiala was expected to return to Nashville with the team following the game and doctors said he will need four to six months to recover from the broken femur he suffered in Game 1. ... RW Miikka Salomaki also made his 2017 playoff debut for the Predators.