• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Legwand scores twice as Predators beat Blues

Oct 9, 2011 - 5:52 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - David Legwand tallied two goals, one an empty netter, and two assists for the Nashville Predators as they defeated St. Louis, 4-2, in the home opener for the Blues.

Craig Smith and Kevin Klein netted the other two goals, while Pekka Rinne stopped 31-of-33 shots for the Predators, who have opened the year with back- to-back road wins.

"We made some adjustments out there tonight and it worked out," said Smith. "It felt good out there and we want to keep it going."

Patrik Berglund and Jason Arnott lit the lamp for the Blues, while Jaroslav Halak struggled in net, saving just 12-of-15 shots.

"Rinne had played incredible for a while now," said Arnott. "It seems like he saw every shot we sent his way. We'll get things together here soon when guys get used to each other."

T.J. Oshie found Berglund for a one-timer as he beat Rinne on the stick side to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Shea Weber put a shot on goal, but Halak was unable to cover as Smith pounced on the loose puck to make it a 1-1 game at the 11:37 mark of the first period.

After a scoreless second, the teams erupted for four total goals in the final period.

Legwand netted his first goal when he found a loose puck inside the crease and deflected it off the skate of St. Louis defenseman Nikita Nikitin.

Alexander Steen then fired a slap shot just inside the blue line which Rinne initially stopped, but the rebound found Arnott's stick as he wristed it home.

Klein scored the go-ahead goal 13:14 into the period when he wristed one past Halak's glove just inside the right circle.

Although the Blues outshot the Predators 16-5 in the third, it was Nashville who put three in the back of the net as Rinne made some unbelievable saves down the stretch for the Predators.

Legwand put the game away with an empty-net goal with 1:02 left.

Game Notes

David Backes made his debut as the 20th captain in team history...The Blues outscored the Predators 6-1 in the third period last season, but were outscored 3-1 by Nashville on Saturday night...It was the first time in Predators history that they opened the season with back-to-back games against a Central Division foe.