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Kariya leads Blues past Predators

Nov 20, 2007 - 5:49 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Paul Kariya helped his new team beat his old team yet again.

Kariya scored a goal and set up another and Manny Legace made 24 saves as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Nashville Predators, for the third time this season, 2-1, Monday night.

Brad Boyes also tallied for St. Louis, which has won four consecutive games.

Kariya netted his fifth goal of the season on the man advantage to give the Blues a 1-0 edge. Kariya deflected defenseman Erik Johnson's slap shot between the pads of goaltender Chris Mason at 9:32 in the second period.

"Everyone on the power play definitely contributed," the 19-year-old Johnson said. "The focus for me is to get the shot on through. Paul (Kariya) got a stick on it and I just saw it trickle through (Mason's) five-hole."

The 33-year-old Kariya, who led the Predators in scoring each of the past two seasons, has tallied one goal and three assists against his former club this season. Kariya, however, feels the team's frustration at putting together extended stretches of good hockey.

"I don't think we've been very sharp," Kariya said, "but it's four points, and we'll take it."

"We've got quite a bit of room for improvement, which is encouraging," St. Louis coach Andy Murray said.

St. Louis added an insurance goal at the 6:40 mark of the final session. After Keith Tkachuk's wrist shot was turned aside, Kariya reacted with a nice skate pass to Boyes, who fired an off-angle shot past a sprawling Mason to give the Blues a 2-0 lead.

"Something happens in the offense every single night when he's out there. He can beat you behind the net, in front of the net, and at any angle he wishes," Shea Weber said of his former teammate Kariya.

Boyes has scored four of his 12 goals this season against the Predators.

Legace was just 63 seconds away from his first shutout of the season and 19th in his career.

After Mason went to the bench to give the Predators an extra attacker, Radek Bonk deflected Weber's slap shot from the left point to halve the deficit with just over a minute to play.

Legace has not had a shutout since blanking Nashville last season on February 16, but that was not his first concern after this game.

"We haven't put together two complete, 60-minute games, back-to-back," Legace said. "We haven't been good, but we haven't been terrible."

The loss ended the Predators' streak of registering at least one point in each of their previous eight contests (6-0-2).

Nashville's best scoring chances came in the opening period. Legace made a reaching glove save on Shea Weber's one-time slap shot from the left point targeted for the upper right corner and denied blue-liner Greg de Vries' backhander late in the frame.

"This an even game. We had our chances - a lot early - and didn't get anything," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We need to score, especially on the power play."

Legace blocked 10 shots in the first period, six in the next and eight in the third to win his third straight decision.

"There have been a few times I've been terrible and the guys have come through," Legace said. "Tonight, the guys let me see the puck. Everything else they blocked. That's great."

Four of those saves came during a first-period power play, one of five Nashville had with the man-advantage. The Blues' league-leading penalty-killing unit denied each opportunity.

"Watching those penalty-killers work out there is exciting," Murray said.