The St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators met for the second time in a week, this time in St. Louis. The Predators wanted to repeat their game from last Thursday, a 7-2 victory. Well, they have exactly that, won 5-2. Let’s go to the summary and see how we got here.
First period
It didn’t take long for the Predators to score the first goal of the game. In fact, it only lasted 27 seconds. Filip Forsberg received a pass from Ryan O’Reilly and scored his twelfth goal of the season.
Dalibor Dvorsky tied the match at 10:06. It was his fourth goal of the season and the first at even strength.
That was the end goal of the first period, but certainly not the end of the action. The remainder of the period saw two fighting majors issued, as well as eight minutes of cutting and rough punishment. No one would expect anything less from a rivalry game.
The Predators defeated the Blues 12-6 in the opening period.
Second Period
Just like in the first period, it didn’t take long for the Preds to recover in the second period. Michael Bunting scored on a wrap-around 1:23 into the period. About four minutes later, the team struck again, with Forsberg scoring his second of the match, capitalizing on a power play.
Reid Schaefer extended the lead with 1:15 left in the period. He scored a goal from the blue line and found his way to the back of the net.
The Predators outscored the Blues 8-6 in the second period.
Third Period
The Blues cut the deficit in half with 11:31 remaining. Dvorsky scored his second of the match off a pass from Jake Neighbors.
Blues head coach Jim Montgomery pulled the goalie with just under four minutes remaining. Seconds later, O’Reilly stole the puck and fed Forsberg, who sealed the deal with his third of the game. For Forsberg it was his twelfth career hat-trick, his second against the Blues.
After the Forsberg goal, the Blues went to the power play. Dvorsky bid for his own hat-trick, but his first shot was stopped. The rebound went off a Nashville player and back onto the net, but failed to materialize. The Preds ended the power play and the remaining time ticked down the clock without any added excitement.
The Blues outscored the Predators 9-6 in the third period. The Predators defeated the Blues for the game, 26-21.
What’s next?
The Blues stay home and take on the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. The Predators return home and also host Wednesday, while the Carolina Hurricanes come to “Music City.”
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