STL@NSH: Turris rips wrister home to put Preds ahead

NASHVILLE -- Kyle Turris scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:12 remaining in regulation, and the Nashville Predators swept a home-and-home with the St. Louis Blues with a 2-1 win at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.

Turris took a pass from Filip Forsberg and skated into the left circle before shooting through the legs of Justin Faulk.
"It was just a battle tonight," Turris said. "They had a real good pushback for the whole game coming off of Saturday], and [Pekka Rinne] kept us in it. He was playing phenomenal. Just to stick with it and battle and grind it out, find a way to win, it's real important for us right now with the position we're in."
[WATCH: [All Blues vs. Predators highlights]
Rinne made 38 saves for Nashville (29-22-7), which defeated the Blues 4-3 in St. Louis on Saturday and has won three straight for the first time since winning four in a row from Oct. 22-29.
"I feel like we can be honest, it's been a struggle for the most part this year after October," Rinne said. "We had a fairly good start, but after that it's been full of ups and downs. Lately, I think it shows in our game that we play with a lot of passion, just gutsy plays. I feel like we've changed the way we play the game. Obviously, it's [Predators coach John Hynes], but it's the players buying into it. I think it shows."
Jordan Binnington made 22 saves for St. Louis (32-17-10), which has lost five straight (0-3-2) and 10 of its past 12 games (2-7-3).
"We had a lot of chances, we just didn't finish," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "[Rinne] played really well and we didn't finish. We had plenty of chances, though. We didn't score enough, and they ended up getting one chance and it went in."
Craig Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 7:55 of the second period on a rebound after Rocco Grimaldi's initial shot hit off the shoulder of Binnington.
"This is the time of the year you want [confidence] to be growing," Turris said. "You want to get hot at the right time. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do and ground to make up, but at the same time, we're trying to move in the right direction."

STL@NSH: Smith buries rebound to kick off scoring

Tyler Bozak tied it 1-1 at 10:58 of the second when his centering pass redirected in off the left leg of Dan Hamhuis.
"It's a tough time right now," Berube said. "We're playing a lot of good hockey but we're not coming up with wins. But if we keep competing and working like we did the last two games, we're going to be OK. That's one of the best games I think we've played all year."

They said it

"I'm just trying to chip it out basically. I kind of fanned on it, and they got it back and scored. I need to be better there. Can't give that up late in the third, it's not good enough. I need to be better there, and I will be better next time." -- Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist on the play that led to Kyle Turris' goal
"I'm just thankful for the opportunity that [Hynes] has given me. He's come in with kind of a clean slate, and I'm just trying to take advantage of the opportunity that he's given me."-- Predators forward Kyle Turris

Need to know

The Blues allowed fewer than three goals for the first time in 12 games. … Smith has scored six goals in his past five games. … Sundqvist had two shots and was minus-1 in 12:01 of ice time in his return after missing the previous eight games because of a lower-body injury.

What's next

Blues:Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-MW, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Predators:Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-TN, FS-CR, NHL.TV)