Tarasenko scores in OT for hat trick, lifts Blues past Predators

NASHVILLE --Vladimir Tarasenko completed a hat trick 16 seconds into overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues to their sixth straight victory, 5-4 against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.

St. Louis (27-22-5) matched its longest winning streak since winning six in a row from March 17-27, 2018. The Blues swept a home-and-home against the Predators, having won 3-2 at Enterprise Center on Saturday.
Tarasenko took the puck along the right wall, beat Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson and cut into the slot past Nashville defenseman Roman Josi before scoring past Juuse Saros. The hat trick was his fifth in the NHL.
WATCH: [All Blues vs. Predators highlights]
"Yeah, I just try take it to the net. Just had to beat one guy," Tarasenko said. "Good things happen when you go to the net and win the game for us. It feels nice, especially against Nashville, we got these four points. It's huge for the team."

Jay Bouwmeester and Ryan O'Reilly each had two assists, and Jake Allen made 40 saves in his first game since Jan. 17 for the Blues, who are 10-2-1 their past 13 games.
"I'll tell you, I'd put that up against anything in the world. That's tough," Allen said of sitting out for 23 days. "I think it's probably one of the longest stretches I've been off since I played, been in the NHL. It's tough. If you're a goalie or a player, sticking your legs back more than anything, you always feel a little bit wonky out there at the start of the game, but you try and settle in as quick as you can and find your rhythm again. So that was the biggest thing. A big game, a big rivalry and we're clawing for points. It was tough, but it was fun."
Arvidsson scored twice, Josi had a goal and an assist, Ryan Ellis and Ryan Johansen each had two assists, and Saros made 24 saves for Nashville (33-19-5), which has lost three of its past five.

"I think we had a good first period, but a couple mistakes cost us in the second," Arvidsson said. "Then we really got going in the third and played our game in the third and really pushed for it."
After a 0-0 first period, the Blues and Predators combined for four goals in 2:55, including three in 70 seconds, in the second period.
Alex Pietrangelo made it 1-0 at 2:56 with a power-play goal on a wrist shot. Tarasenko's 20th goal made it 2-0 at 4:41 from the left circle, but Arvidsson's goal 25 seconds later cut the Blues lead to 2-1. Tyler Bozak scored on a backhand from the high slot at 5:51 to make it 3-1.
Josi's wraparound at 2:48 of the third period cut the St. Louis lead to 3-2, and Arvidsson's second of the game tied it 3-3 at 6:10. But Tarasenko's second of the game at 7:06 put the Blues ahead 4-3.
Nashville tied it again 4-4 when Filip Forsberg scored his 20th goal at 12:53 of the third.

"It was a great hockey game, back and forth," Johansen said. "These guys are playing good hockey and it was fun playing against them again tonight."

They said it

"The three goals are huge, he's feeling it right now for sure. I thought he had a strong game scoring three goals. He had eight shots on net, so he's a strong player tonight." -- Blues coach Craig Berube on forward Vladimir Tarasenko

"It was a different game completely for us today in a positive way. I hate the result because we didn't walk away with another point, but for me, the speed and the competitiveness, the shots, the attempts, the looks that we had -- I thought they were good." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Tarasenko has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in an eight-game point streak. He has 11 goals in the past 16 games. ... The Blues were outshot 44-29, ending a string of 19 straight games outshooting their opponents. ... O'Reilly has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) the past 11 games and 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in the past 19 games. ... Forsberg became first player in Predators history with five 20-goal seasons. ... Arvidsson has 14 points (12 goals, two assists) the past 14 games. ... Johansen has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in the past 12 games.

What's next

Blues: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-D, NHL.TV)