• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Peverley propels Predators past Blues

Apr 2, 2008 - 6:19 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Rich Peverley scored the game-winning tally just 1:43 into overtime as the Nashville Predators overcame an early three-goal deficit and skated to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Brandon Bochenski, Jordin Tootoo and Vernon Fiddler also scored for Nashville (40-31-9), which moved past Vancouver (39-30-10) for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference. The Canucks played the Colorado Avalanche later on Tuesday.

Andy McDonald, Jamal Mayers and rookie David Perron recorded goals and David Backes had two assists for St. Louis, which fell to 3-13-4 in its last 20 games.

"It's kind of the way the second half of our season has gone," Blues coach Andy Murray told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The first 41 games, we closed that game out with a win."

In overtime, Peverley wristed the puck from the left faceoff circle past Hannu Toivonen for his fourth goal of the season.

"I'm not playing good enough ... that's what it is," Toivonen told the newspaper.

"One of our issues has been getting the extra time filled by another goaltender competently," Murray told the newspaper. "We needed some saves and we didn't get them."

After the Blues scored the game's first three goals and chased starting netminder Dan Ellis from the game, the Predators slowly chipped away at the deficit.

Bochenski put Nashville on the scoreboard just 6:06 into the second period, collecting the puck outside the blue line and wristing a shot in the slot past Toivonen for his third goal of the season.

After Tootoo halved the deficit just 1:53 into the third period, Fiddler leveled the contest with 6:32 remaining by skating around the net and quickly wristing the puck past Toivonen for his 11th goal of the season.

Chris Mason stopped all 10 shots he faced for the Predators.

"It was nice to be able to help the guys," Mason told The Tennessean. "We want to be in the playoffs so bad, and I was just glad to be part of it."

"Mase was the backbone to that victory," Fiddler told the newspaper.