Predators shut out Blues in fourth straight win

NASHVILLE -- Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, and the Nashville Predators moved into first place in the Central Division with a 4-0 win against the St. Louis Blues at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.
The Predators (38-14-9), who have won four in a row, moved two points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets in the Central.

WATCH: [All Blues vs. Predators highlights]
Rinne is 13-1-1 in his past 15 starts. He has three shutouts during that span.
"We scored four goals, but I thought that we had plenty more chances and good looks," Rinne said. "The biggest thing for me is we did a great job defensively and didn't give them too much. They have some very good players and had a few good looks, but other than that we did a really good job."

The Blues (34-25-4) have lost six straight (0-5-1) and have been shut out in back-to-back games. They lost 4-0 against Winnipeg on Friday. St. Louis is one point behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"I think we're a pretty frustrated group right now, having trouble scoring goals," Blues forward Kyle Brodziak said. "It's tough. We've got to find a way. Whatever it is we need to do, talk about it, work on things, we've got to find a way to be better."
Colton Sissons gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the first period on a wrist shot on the rush on the power play. He took a pass from Kyle Turris and shot it past Jake Allen for his seventh goal.
"We have a pretty good rivalry with them, so any time we can kind of assert our dominance against them, we're all for it," Sissons said. "We've been in some tough battles with them throughout the season and years prior, but it feels good to put them away like that at home."
Kevin Fiala made it 2-0 at 14:21 of the first period. He led a 2-on-1 rush with Roman Josi and beat Allen for his 20th goal.

Scott Hartnell gave the Predators a 3-0 lead at 1:20 of the second period. Calle Jarnkrok tracked down a rebound and made a pass that banked off Hartnell into the net for his 11th goal.
"For the last two weeks, [Hartnell] and his line have been excellent," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "They've probably been our top-scoring line 5-on-5. They've chipped in big goals at the right time as well. [Hartnell] is working hard every day. He's working hard every shift. He wants to win and he's showing it by the way he's playing."
Austin Watson gave the Predators a 4-0 lead at 13:24 of the second period on a shorthanded breakaway for his eighth goal. Four of Watson's eight goals this season have come against St. Louis.
"Maybe I get lucky against the Blues, I don't know," Watson said. "No, it's a Central Division opponent. It's a rivalry game for us. They always have a good team. It's always a physical battle, and I think that gets the juices flowing a little bit. I think for me, that's a good thing."
Allen made 35 saves.

Goal of the game

Sissons' goal at 4:45 of the first period.

Save of the game

Rinne against Alexander Steen at 11:50 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Fiala's goal at 14:21 of the first period.

They said it

"I'm sure it's a combination of things, but I think it's a mindset from here on out, we've got to throw everything on the table. Whether that counteracts what we're trying to do, I don't know. We've got to do something to find some kind of spark, some kind of light here. Maybe if we come out and say we're going to throw everything at them, maybe that'll spark something and we can build off of that." -- Blues forward Kyle Brodziak
"We've been in the moment, just focused on the task at hand. Not even so much game to game, just period by period. We haven't liked our second periods and that was something we wanted to fix tonight, and we did that. I think when you try to look at the season as a whole, it's tough. But when you look at it game by game coming to work and doing the right things for that game, things will turn out well for you." -- Predators forward Austin Watson

Need to know

The Blues haven't scored a goal in 140:24. … Predators general manager David Poile (1,318 wins) moved one win shy of tying Glen Sather (1,319 wins) for most regular-season wins by an NHL general manager.

What's next

Blues: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Predators: At the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, TSN3, NHL.TV)