Preds Score Five to Conclude Homestand With Win Over Blues

Five different goal scorers led the Nashville Predators to a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds a win to conclude their three-game homestand with points in six of their eight games this season. 

Jonathan Marchessault, Filip Forsberg, Adam Edstrom, Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Drury all tallied for Nashville, and Juuse Saros made 24 saves to give Nashville a satisfying result over a division rival. 

“Especially [in] the third period, we kind of got to our game, started playing a bit more simple with the puck,” Forsberg said. “Two periods had a lot of turnovers, and a team like that, that's kind of what they want, just get free offense… But the third period was a really solid [finish].”

“I thought we played with a purpose in the third period,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “We played a little bit simpler. We took care of [the puck], and then we got to work in the offensive zone… We're still trying to find that consistency in doing that, and it's something that we're going to continue to work on.”

After the Blues scored the game’s first goal, the Preds capitalized on a rare opportunity. Already on the power play, Marchessault was awarded a penalty shot after Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington threw his stick at the puck as Marchessault was making a play to the net. 

And on the penalty shot, the winger went five-hole on Binnington for his third career penalty-shot goal to even the game 1-1. 

“I knew he was not allowed to do that, so I didn't know it was going to be a penalty shot, I thought it was going to be a 5-on-3 [power play], but I was happy about it,” Marchessault smiled. “And after that, I got to know that [I was getting a penalty shot], so I was happy about that, too. So, [it] ended up being good.”

Then, less than four minutes later, Forsberg went behind the net and wrapped the puck around the cage and over the line for his first of the season and a sigh of relief from No. 9. 

“It was great,” Forsberg said of scoring. “Obviously, there's been some chances, but if there's one thing I've learned [during] my time here [it] comes and it goes. But yeah, obviously it was a big goal at the time.”

In the middle period, Edstrom put the Preds up by two when he neatly redirected a Roman Josi feed for his second shorthanded goal of the season.

The Blues got one back on that same power-play opportunity, but in the final frame, O’Reilly restored the two-goal lead when he shoveled home a loose puck behind Binnington before Drury added his first with the Preds for some added insurance.

“I think better puck management,” Drury said of what led to a successful third period. “[We were] turning over a lot in the first and second, and kind of letting them half ice us and play in our end. So, I think we were a bit smarter with it and led to more [offensive] zone time.”

A perfect penalty kill, plus another solid effort from Saros, certainly helped on the defensive side of things, and then Preds tied their season high with five goals on the board in an effort that was far from perfect - but still delivered the desired outcome. 

“We liked the result, and the process early on wasn't [our] game plan,” Brunette said. “We knew they were going to be a little bit desperate - they're the fastest scoring team in the League in the first period. I just didn't think we got to our game the correct way. I didn't think we took enough pride with the puck - we left it in bad spots, fed their rush game - they're a really fast team. 

“I thought as the game went on, we started doing those things. I really liked our third period. I thought that's what good teams do in the third period, even though your first two aren't great, speaks to the leadership that they're able to grab it, and got some big penalty kills. ‘Juice’ made a big save and [we] got some timely goals in the third, so it's a big win for us. I just think the end of this little homestand - then heading onto the road into a real tough stretch of the season here - we got a few days to breathe a little bit and get back to work.”

The Preds will certainly take advantage of that short hiatus with a day off Sunday followed by a pair of practice days before heading back on the road mid-week. 

It hasn’t happened every night, but the Predators have collected points in the standings more often than not - and they’ll be looking to get better in their own confines ahead of the next two chances to add to their totals. 

And Saturday’s result - especially the final 20 minutes - provided plenty to build on. 

“I think we've had stretches where we're playing to the best of our ability, and when you see that, it's encouraging,” Drury said. “I think we're one of the top teams when we’re on our game, but we've also had some stretches where we've been a little lax and relied on ‘Juice’ a little too much. I think tighten that up a little bit and try to put our best foot forward more often than not.”

“I mean, there's certainly a lot of things we can still work on, but like I said, it is a strength to keep picking up points,” Forsberg said. “It's a hard League, and you need points, and I think that's definitely something we'll be happy about. But, lots of work to do, and we can still get a lot better.” 

Notes: 

Preds forward Mavrik Bourque remained out with an upper-body injury. Defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Jack Ahcan were scratched. 

Per NHL Stats, Jonathan Marchessault scored the first penalty-shot goal by a Predators player since Viktor Arvidsson on April 8, 2021.

Adam Edstrom scored his NHL-leading second shorthanded goal of the season. The last Predators skater to score more shorthanded goals in a campaign was Colton Sissons (3 in 2023-24).

Roman Josi (2a) recorded the 188th multi-point game of his career and moved within one of Victor Hedman (189) for the third-most by a defenseman born outside North America. Nicklas Lidstrom (264) and Erik Karlsson (231) top the list.

With their three-game homestand now complete, the Preds will have a few days to prepare for a two-game trip to Boston and Pittsburgh that begins next Thursday against the Bruins.