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Blues come up short vs. Predators in game between wild-card contenders

ST. LOUIS — Jordan Binnington was solid in the net with 28 saves.

Red-hot sniper Jordan Kyrou scored a goal.

But the St. Louis Blues received little help from anyone not named Jordan in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday at Enterprise Center.

St. Louis, which had won eight of its previous 10 games, was not able to maintain the momentum from a strong effort in a 6-3 win over red-hot Edmonton on Thursday.

Nathan Walker also scored for the Blues off a scramble in front of the net with 7:08 left in the contest to trim the Blues’ deficit to 4-2.

The Blues lead over the Predators dropped to two points in the battle for the final wild-card spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.

St. Louis fell to 16-9-1 under interim coach Drew Bannister, who took over when Craig Berube was let go in December. The Blues were 13-14-1 under Berube, who guided the team to a Stanley Cup title in 2019.

The hosts were not without chances and put the pressure on down the stretch, but Nashville goalie Juuse Saros had the answers all night long.

Blues forward Jake Neighbours was stopped on a potential game-tying penalty shot with 1 minute left in the second period. Saros used a stick save to thwart the attempt and preserve a 2-1 lead. The penalty shot was set up when Neighbours was pulled down from behind by Luke Schenn.

Nashville broke the 1-all tie on a breakaway goal by Luke Evangelista in the second period. A clearing attempt hopped over the stick of defenseman Marco Scandella and sent Evangelista in all alone on goalie Binnington. Evangelista waited until Binnington committed before lifting the puck high for his 10th goal of the season.

The Blues had a chance to go in front midway through the second period, but Pavel Buchnevich was stopped by Saros on a 2-on-1 breakout with Robert Thomas.

Kyrou tied the game 1-1 on a power play goal with 55 seconds left in the opening period. He took a perfect cross-ice pass from Robert Thomas and one-timed a shot behind Saros with 2 seconds left on a two-man advantage.

It was Kyrou’s 19th goal of the season, tying him for the team lead along with Thomas and Neighbours. Kyrou has five goals over his last five games.

A giveaway by Buchnevich led to the first goal of the game. He tossed an errant pass right onto the stick of Colton Sissons, who whipped a wrist shot behind Binnington.

Filip Forsberg pushed Nashville’s lead to a 4-1 on a power-play goal with 13 minutes and 12 seconds remaining left the third period. Schenn scored on a hard drive from the point just 63 seconds later for a 4-1 cushion.

Former Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly iced the victory for Nashville on an empty-net goal with 32 seconds left.

A family affair

Jeff Schenn tried to stay neutral.

It wasn’t easy.

Jeff’s sons, Brayden and Luke, faced off against one another Saturday afternoon, putting Jeff and his wife Rita in a tough spot.

Brayden, in his seventh season with the Blues, remains the glue as the 24th captain in franchise history.

Luke, older by two years at 34, is the current all-time hits leader in the NHL among active defensemen.

As a rule, Jeff wears the home team colors when he sits in the stands in St. Louis and Nashville.

Most of time, the parents sit back and enjoy the thrill of watching two sons playing a sport they love at the highest level.

“They cheer for both of us to play well,” Brayden said. “And whoever wins, wins.”

Jeff and Rita arrived from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, this week in anticipation of the sibling matchup. They got a chance to hang out with their five grandchildren while watching the game from a suite.

Home sweet home

The Blues are 1-1 in the middle of their third four-game homestand of the season.

They won three of four on friendly ice from Nov. 3-9 and recorded just one regulation win Jan. 9-15.

St. Louis will host Toronto at noon Monday before taking on the New Islanders on Thursday.

The Blues will have two more four-game homestands later in the season.

©2024 STLtoday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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