NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jaroslav Halak made it look easy -- at the Nashville Predators expense.
Halak made 24 saves for his second
straight shutout and 11th in the NHL, and the St. Louis Blues beat
Nashville 3-0 on Thursday night, handing the Predators their first
regulation loss of the season.
"He is such a fun goalie to watch," Blues
defenseman Erik Johnson said. "He looks like he is not even trying. He
is so effortless in his motion. There is no wasted energy with him.
"We feel so confident with him back there
because he's so cool, calm and collected. We know we can go on offense
and he'll be back there if we have any hiccups. He has been a great,
great asset for us."
Halak, acquired in the offseason from
Montreal after helping lead the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference
finals, was coming off a 1-0 overtime win over Pittsburgh on Saturday
night.
"It feels great, but I didn't come into
the game thinking about the last shutout," Halak said. "I was just
thinking about trying to help the guys win the game. It is even more
special when it is a shutout."
The Blues didn't make it easy for Halak in the first two periods.
"I thought the first period was an even
period for both teams," St. Louis coach Davis Payne said. "Both teams
were pretty steady and not willing to give up too much. But I thought
we had some point blank turnovers that Jaroslav had to stop.
"In the second period each team traded
chances. Although we had some chances at our net I think we fed a
little bit of their offensive play with some sloppy puck touches.
Jaroslav was obviously real big and real firm and kept everything out.
He earned that game for us in the second period. He gave us a chance in
the third."
Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and Matt D'Agostini scored.
Heading into the game, the Predators had
dropped three games in a row at home, all in overtime. They had won
their last five meetings with St. Louis. Payne wasn't worried about the
Predators' wins and losses. He was more interested in what his team was
going to do.
"We don't look that much at who we are
playing, but we do look at the standard we have set for ourselves and
how we are playing," Payne said. "We feel like we have got the talent.
We feel like we have the defensive ability, the leadership and the team
play that is going to get it done for us. We don't ask about the
schedule or travel. We just ask if we have met our standard."
Steen opened the scoring with a
short-handed goal with 7:04 left in the second period. David Perron
skated from behind the net and hit Steen with a pass. Steen scored on a
wrist shot from in front of the crease, beating Pekka Rinne to his
stick side. It was Steen's first goal of the season.
With 7:12 remaining in the game, Berglund scored off of a rebound that bounced off of Rinne's pads and into the slot.
Nashville's Jordin Tootoo was given a
major penalty for charging and a game misconduct with 6:49 left to play
in the third period. He tangled with Carlo Colaiacovo behind the Blues
net.
"My understanding is that it was a blow
to the head, but if you look at the replay it looks like it's
shoulder-on-shoulder," Tootoo said. "It's a tough league that we play
in.
"You've got to keep your head up out
there. I think the bottom line is that when you hit someone hard,
obviously the refs are going to take a second look at it."
Nashville coach Barry Trotz also thought
it was a shoulder-to-shoulder check. He added that he never saw Tootoo
leave his feet. Payne refused to comment on the play by Tootoo.
D'Agostini scored on the power play with 4:45 left, beating Rinne from close range.
"There is no pullback in our game," Payne
said. "It is all designed with the intent to put ourselves in a good
position to manage the game correctly and to manage the puck correctly.
"I thought the third period was real solid in that aspect. We are
willing to attack the net, but we are also to return to our zone as
five guys."
NOTES:
The Predators were perfect on the penalty kill in their previous four
games. ... Tyson Strachan played his second game for the Blues this
season, replacing Roman Polak. Polak had surgery on his wrist earlier
in the day. He's sidelined indefinitely.
