Saad, Thomas boost Blues in win against Predators

ST. LOUIS --Brandon Saad and Robert Thomas each had a goal and an assist for the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

Tyler Pitlick had two assists, and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for St. Louis (23-20-3), which scored four straight goals and is 3-2-0 during a season-long seven-game homestand.
"Right now, every game is a playoff game for us," Blues forward Jordan Kyrou said. "We went in there with that mindset and played our game."

Colton Sissons scored in his 500th NHL game, and Juuse Saros made 28 saves for Nashville (21-18-6), which had won two in a row.
"First period was OK," Predators coach John Hynes said. "They were a lot better the last 40 minutes]. ... I'm looking for a lot better showing than we had tonight."
Nashville thought it had taken a 1-0 lead 2:03 into the first period on a rebound by
[Tommy Novak
, but video review determined Jeremy Lauzon interfered with Binnington.
Brayden Schenn then gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead 11 seconds into the second period. Schenn received an outlet pass from Justin Faulk and chipped the puck around Roman Josi before his shot deflected off the stick of Ryan McDonagh.
"A good start, obviously," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "A nice play off the face-off with 'Schenner's' goal and then [we] followed it up. We stayed aggressive in the second period. I thought that put us in a good spot for the third."

Sissons tied it 1-1 at 2:36 when St. Louis got caught on a line change and Cole Smith outraced defenseman Nick Leddy into the left corner before passing to Sissons in the slot.
"My linemate [Smith] won the battle in the corner and put in a really good spot for me on a breakaway," Sissons said.
Saad restored the Blues' lead at 8:30 when he received a pass from Pitlick and skated around Predators forward Tanner Jeannot before scoring on a backhand to make it 2-1.
"That's a big part of his game," Berube said of Saad's speed. "He does that a lot. He gets a little step on somebody, he can take it to the net and he does a good job of it, and it's a nice move.
"He realized that the legs were going to open up a bit (on Saros) and slid it through there. Nice goal."

Kyrou scored on a power play at 15:34 to make it 3-1, appearing to try to score through his legs before lifting a backhand over Saros' left shoulder from in front.
"Got a couple [of] low plays there and saw an opportunity to take it to the net and did," Kyrou said. "I got a good shot there.
"[Out of] the corner of my eye, I saw a little lane to the net. I tried maybe going through my legs and just brought it back to my backhand instead."
Thomas made it 4-1 at 1:03 of the third period when he and Saad each redirected a point shot by Calle Rosen, and Alexey Toropchenko scored 58 seconds later to make it 5-1, tucking the puck in following a passing play with Pitlick and Nathan Walker at 2:01.
"We know they're going to come out with everything they've got," Thomas said. "We got two quick goals in the first [two] minutes … good start for us, and that's what you need to do at the start of the third period, especially against a dangerous team like them."
Mattias Ekholm scored on a backhand with 2:08 remaining during a 4-on-4 for the 5-2 final.
NOTES:Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker had an assist for his first NHL point in his 10th game. ... St. Louis had 33 shots on goal after having fewer than 30 in seven straight. ... Josi led the Predators with seven shots in 24:51.