Predators score 6 in win against Blues, gain in Western wild card race

NASHVILLE --Tommy Novak had a goal and three assists for the Nashville Predators, who gained ground in the Western Conference wild card race with a 6-1 win against the St. Louis Blues at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Luke Evangelista had a goal and two assists, and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for the Predators (38-29-8), who had only scored seven goals in their previous five games (2-3-0).
Nashville moved within three points of the Winnipeg Jets, who have played one more game, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West.
"Winnipeg won last night (6-2 against the Detroit Red Wings), so this was a big one for us," Predators coach John Hynes said. "We wanted to play in meaningful games down the stretch. … When you look at the group that's really come in and the next-man up mentality, night in and night out for the most part, we're giving ourselves a chance to win."

Calle Rosen scored, and Thomas Greiss made 29 saves for the Blues (35-35-6), who had scored 27 goals in their previous five games (4-1-0).
"We got what we deserved today, I think," St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn said. "I don't think we had even close to our best game and turned over pucks and lost battles and probably took a team lightly that's fighting for a playoff spot. That's what happens when you don't show up."
Novak gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:46 of the first period. Evangelista sent a backhand, cross-ice pass from along the boards to Novak, who lifted in a backhand over Greiss' left shoulder.
Cody Glass, who turned 24 on Saturday, made it 2-0 at 7:20 when he redirected Novak's wrist shot from the left point.
It was the first of two power-play goals for Nashville, which had gone 1-for-29 with the man-advantage in its previous 10 games.
"I thought our energy right out of the gate was really good," Evangelista said. "It was a really good bounceback for us. We didn't play our best game in Pittsburgh (a 2-0 loss on Thursday) and we knew we needed to bounce back. We were getting a ton of shots and a ton of chances, so that contributed to our offense right away."

Colton Sissons extended the lead to 3-0 at 7:36 of the second period with a short-handed goal. Following a turnover in the Predators' zone, Sissons outskated Jordan Kyrou down the ice before beating Greiss with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
Evangelista made it 4-0 at 13:27, one-timing a pass from Kiefer Sherwood five-hole on Greiss from near the right post.
Rosen made it 4-1 at 8:36 of the third period when his wrist shot from the blue line got past a screened Saros.
Yakov Trenin pushed it to 5-1 at 11:49, taking advantage of a turnover by Colton Parayko before scoring on his own rebound.
"I think we were hungry on the forecheck," Sissons said. "We were turning a lot of pucks over, just sustaining some offensive time. You spend some time in the zone there and get some pucks to the net, good things happen."
Philip Tomasino made it 6-1 at 18:06 with a power-play goal.
St. Louis is 9-for-20 on the penalty kill in its past five games.
"That wasn't a great game right from the get-go," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Second period, we had some opportunities on the power play, did some good things, but other than that, it was not very good."
NOTES:Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney made his NHL debut after being recalled him Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Saturday. He replaced Jeremy Lauzon (upper-body injury) in the lineup and had three shots and one block in 13:16 ice time. … Blues defenseman Marco Scandella left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Berube said he was unsure how long Scandella would be out of the lineup. … Nashville forward Cole Smith (undisclosed) left the game in the second period. There was no update postgame. … The Predators paid tribute to the six victims of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville on Monday, holding a moment of silence before the game and wearing the school's patch on their jerseys.