Nashville Predators Get Epic Shootout Win Over St.Louis Blues

In one of the most exciting and entertaining games of the year, the Nashville Predators got their second win in as many days against the St.Louis Blues.

All of the pain we were feeling about the struggles of the Nashville Predators are quickly vanishing after the last two games this team has given us. Two wins over the Stanley Cup champions.

Not only are they big wins over the defending champs, but also big wins over a divisional opponent to make up some valuable ground in the standings. The Predators slid back to just two points out of last place heading into Monday night’s game.

The Predators beat the Blues just 48 hours prior in a 4-2 game where they jumped out early with two goals in the first few minutes of the game. The Blues wouldn’t go away in that game, and they did the same thing in this one.

How it unfolded

We knew the Blues would come out firing and hungry for some revenge. It’s tough to beat the same team in such a short time period. Especially against such a good team like the Blues are. Somehow the Predators figured out a way to flip a switch and put together two-straight solid performances.

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This one got started very chippy, as expected. Juuse Saros had to be sharp early on as both teams traded chances. The Predators took a pair of sloppy penalties to force them to go onto the penalty kill. An area that haven’t been particularly strong in.

The penalty kill responded and held the Blues scoreless, even with the Blues having a brief 5-on-3 opportunity. This was a big momentum shifter early in the game. Things started opening up for the Predators after that, and they started to take control of the pace.

Quickly after taking some control of the game, the Predators struck on a goal from Nick Bonino. It comes from a beautiful set-up from Rocco Grimaldi and a solid finish on the wrister that’s Bonino’s 10th of the season, which ties Filip Forsberg for the team lead. Check out the goal here:

Bonino’s improbable scoring run continues as he’s really doing an outstanding job for Nashville’s third line. Predators had the early lead again over the Blues.

Predators kept the pressure on St.Louis after the initial strike, and eventually would add another on a rebound goal from Ryan Johansen. Starting off strong for the second-straight game against a great team like the Blues was critical, and the Predators delivered on that.

We knew the Blues wouldn’t go away quietly. They stuck around and eventually started taking away some momentum by tightening up defensively. They’d get goals from David Perron and Brayden Schenn to tie it at 2-2.

The Blues did everything they could to steal this one away in regulation, but Saros stood tall. Saros wouldn’t let the Blues steal this game away, and it went to overtime.

Incredible finish

In overtime the Predators controlled most of the possession and threw so much at Jake Allen. As much credit that Saros deserves for the Predators, give credit where credit is due to Allen . He denied the Predators so many times on great chances, especially in overtime.

I’ll be honest. When this thing went to a shootout, I thought the Blues were going to sneak away with the two points. I’ve never been highly confident in the Predators when it comes to shootouts. However, Saros stopped three of four attempts while Forsberg hit the clutch goal to send it to a fourth round.

The rest is history as Daniel Carr of all people scored a gorgeous goal over Allens shoulder in the to corner of the net for the win. Carr got called up in wake of the Viktor Arvidsson injury, and delivered in the ultimate way with this one.

3. 151. Final. 2. 99

There’s still a lot of ground to make up. With these two wins over the Blues, at least the Predators have plugged the hole in the ship and we’re no longer taking on water. The Predators are now 3-6-1 in November with their next game against a team facing their own slump in the Vegas Golden Knights.

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