Predators 6, Blues 1
Ryan Ellis scored early during a power play to ignite a three-goal first period as Nashville handed St. Louis its first home loss.
Martin Erat had a tallyl and two assists while Richard Clune notched his first career goal as the Predators -- the league's lowest-scoring team coming in -- extended their winning streak to three games and avenged two losses to the Blues last month.
Nick Spaling scored with 47 seconds left in the opening period while defenseman Kevin Klein and Gabriel Bourque tallied a minute apart midway through the second to stake Pekka Rinne to a 5-0 lead. Rinne made 31 saves for his third straight victory.
Ellis set the tone 2:10 into the game, scoring on the man advantage when his pass toward the front of the net deflected off the stick off Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and past Brian Elliott, who was yanked in the second period after allowing four goals on 11 shots. The three first-period goals were more than the Predators had scored in their previous three games combined.
Pietrangelo finally got the Blues on the board on the power play at 13:09 of the second, when his backhander from the right faceoff circle deflected off Rinne's mask and into the net. Erat capped the scoring for Nashville with 3:26 to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: C Colin Wilson had three assists and D Jonathon Blum added two for the Predators, who had not scored in 184 minutes, 54 seconds at the Scottrade Center before Ellis snapped an 0-for-17 drought on the power play. ... Blues G Jake Allen, who was called up from Peoria when G Jaroslav Halak was placed on injured reserve, replaced Elliott after Nashville's fourth tally and promptly gave up the goal by Bourque on the first NHL shot he faced. ... St. Louis has allowed a power-play goal in seven of nine games.