ST. LOUIS — Tyler Bozak broke a scoreless tie with 7:25 left and Jordan Binnington earned his fifth shutout in two months as the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Binnington stopped 19 shots. All his shutouts have come since Jan. 7, when he made his first NHL start. He is 14-2-1 in that span.
Bozak took a cross-ice pass from Vladimir Tarasenko in the third period and put the puck through the legs of Nashville goalie Juuse Saros, who made 42 saves. Alex Pietrangelo added an empty-net goal on the power play with four seconds remaining.
St. Louis won the season series 4-1-0, taking the final four matchups from its Central Division rival. The Blues are 11-4-0 in their last 15 games against the Predators, who have a one-point lead in the division over Winnipeg.
St. Louis has won its past seven home games, the longest active streak in the league. The third-place Blues also set a franchise record with 12 wins in February and matched their mark for any month (April 2013).
Nashville got on the power play in the third when Colton Parayko was called for high-sticking at 8:08, but the Predators didn’t get a shot during the two minutes. Right after the penalty, Parayko had a breakaway but Saros blocked the shot.
Binnington thwarted Filip Forsberg at 2:20 of the final period. Forsberg was all alone in front but couldn’t score.
The Blues came right back with a big chance when Ryan O’Reilly hit the crossbar. However, the puck bounced straight down in the crease and out.
The teams battled through two scoreless periods. St. Louis controlled the action for the most part, outshooting the Predators 24-14. The Blues had one power play the first period but Nashville killed it. The Predators were unable to score when they were on the power play in the second.
NOTES: Blues LW Alexander Steen was scratched with the flu. St. Louis recalled Sammy Blais on emergency conditions from San Antonio. … New defenceman Michael Del Zotto was a healthy scratch for the Blues. He was in Vancouver on Monday with Anaheim when the trade was completed and arrived in St. Louis late Tuesday morning. He has split this season between the Canucks and Ducks, scoring one goal and adding six assists in 35 games. … The Predators made two moves Monday just before the trade deadline, acquiring Mikael Granlund from Minnesota and Wayne Simmonds from Philadelphia. Simmonds was in the lineup but Granlund was not Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Predators: Play at Winnipeg on Friday.
Blues: Play at Carolina on Friday.
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Warren Mayes, The Associated Press