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NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators will try to stretch their winning streak to four games Saturday when they host the St. Louis Blues at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is set for 12 p.m. CT. It’s a rare early start for a Central Division matchup, with Nashville trending up and St. Louis searching for answers on the road.
The Predators enter at 7-4-5, good for 19 points and eighth in the Western Conference. The streak began with a 5-4 shootout win over Tampa Bay on Halloween. Nashville then beat Carolina 4-1 on Tuesday and went into Colorado on Thursday night for a 3-2 overtime win. Three straight wins against some of the league’s best teams have made Nashville a Wild Card team at the start of November.
The Blues are 7-7-2 with 16 points, 10th in the West, and they arrive on a skid. After a 5-4 win at Detroit on Oct. 31, St. Louis dropped a 3-1 decision to the Rangers and a 5-4 decision to New Jersey on Thursday. Saturday is the last stop of this road swing before the Blues return home to host Detroit on Tuesday.
The special teams numbers favor the home side. Nashville’s power play is clicking at 29.63%, fifth in the NHL, and its penalty kill is third at 90%. The Predators also allow just 2.94 goals per game, eighth-best in the league. St. Louis scores 3.06 goals per game and has a sixth-ranked penalty kill at 85.71%, so discipline could decide this one.
These teams have already met this season. On Oct. 17 at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville beat St. Louis 5-2 to snap a three-game losing streak. Filip Forsberg scored his first goal of the season and added an assist, Jonathan Marchessault scored on a penalty shot, and Adam Edstrom scored a short-handed goal. Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Drury also scored, and Juuse Saros made 24 saves. Philip Broberg and Jimmy Snuggerud scored for the Blues.
Forsberg has found his rhythm since that first goal. He has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 16 games. Captain Roman Josi has been the engine of the offense from the back end with two goals and 16 assists, and Steven Stamkos leads the team with nine goals to go with eight assists. In goal, Saros is 4-3-4 with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
For St. Louis, the production is spread out. Broberg has 12 points, as does Mason McTavish. Dylan Holloway has three goals and nine assists through 16 games, and Snuggerud has been a consistent scoring threat. Joel Hofer is 6-4-1 in net, though Jordan Binnington started the Oct. 17 meeting, so it’s worth watching who gets the nod.
This section will be updated during pregame warmups.
This section will be updated during pregame warmups.
Nashville
St. Louis
Source: DraftKings