Stamkos Lifts Predators Past Blues for 4th Straight

Steven Stamkos knew exactly where to stand. With Joel Hofer buried in traffic, the Nashville Predators captain wristed a rebound into an open net on the power play, and Nashville went on to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, NHL.com reported. Stamkos finished with a goal and an assist.

It is four straight wins for the Predators, who climbed to 8-4-5. The Blues fell to 7-8-2 and have dropped three in a row.

Stamkos Keeps Climbing the List

The goal tied the game 1-1 at 16:07 of the first period, answering Jimmy Snuggerud’s power-play snap shot from earlier in the frame. It was the 248th power-play goal of Stamkos’ career, which moved him past Luc Robitaille into sole possession of fifth in NHL history.

It was also his 130th career game-tying goal, passing Jaromir Jagr for fifth all time. Only Alex Ovechkin, Wayne Gretzky, Dave Andreychuk and Joe Sakic have more.

“That was probably one of the easier ones tonight,” Stamkos said. “You joke that sometimes you’ve just got to know where to stand.”

Colton Line Wins the Middle Period

Ross Colton put Nashville ahead for good at 9:02 of the second. He had been stopped on a tip 24 seconds earlier, then took a feed from Jack Drury in the high slot and beat Hofer through an Adam Edstrom screen. St. Louis managed just six shots in that period.

Nick Perbix iced it into an empty net with 1:29 left. Juuse Saros made 25 saves, and Roman Josi picked up two assists to move within one point of 800 for his career.

Special Teams Are Driving the Streak

Three numbers explain the run. Nashville’s power play is clicking at 29.8 percent, its penalty kill sits at 88.5 percent, and it is doing it without Jonathan Marchessault, who missed a third straight game with a lower-body injury.

The Predators also debuted their navy Hometown Remix uniforms on Saturday and wore Dolly Parton nameplates in warmups, with those jerseys auctioned for her Imagination Library charity. It was a good night to be in Smashville.

For St. Louis, the slide is getting loud. Coach Jim Montgomery said his team’s effort faded after the first 20 minutes, and the Blues are now below .500 in mid-November.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Steven Stamkos points in Nashville’s next game. He has a goal and an assist in this one and is the finisher on a power play converting 29.8 percent of its chances. If the Predators draw few penalties early, shift the lean to Nashville team goals, since the Colton, Drury and Edstrom line is producing at even strength too.