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Nichol, Smithson lead Predators past Blues

Jan 20, 2008 - 12:47 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Scott Nichol and the Nashville Predators got the better of Manny Legace this time around.

Nichol scored two shorthanded goals and Jerred Smithson added a pair of assists as the Predators posted a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Legace entered the game with a 3-0-0 record and 0.67 goals-against average this season against Nashville, but he did not resemble the goaltender that was named to the Western Conference All-Star team.

"I just played terrible," said Legace, who has been nursing a wrist injury. "It was awful. Three goals should have never went in. It was just one of those nights and I have to make those saves, especially against a team like this. It wasn't because of my injury or a lack of practice. I was just horrible."

Chris Mason stopped 24 shots for Nashville, which hosts St. Louis on Sunday.

"We played a good road game, especially since we knew they were going to have a big crowd," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "We had a very good first period, which on the road is very tough to do in this rink. The Blues come on out hard and fast. I thought we matched their intensity early on. It was huge to get these points."

David Legwand scored from an impossible angle to put the Predators ahead, 2-1, with 4:51 left in the first period. Legwand gathered the puck along the boards and fired a shot that deflected off Legace's right arm and into the left side of the net.

That tally started a flurry of four straight goals as the Predators handed the Blues their fourth straight loss.

With the Predators still holding a 2-1 advantage, Nichol won a race to a loose puck near St. Louis' blue line before beating Legace with a wrist shot at 5:34 of the middle period.

Captain Jason Arnott stretched the lead to 4-1 with a slap shot from the right faceoff circle with 4:54 left in the session. That spelled the end of the day for Legace, who was replaced by Hannu Toivonen after allowing four goals on just 15 shots.

Nichol added his second shorthander with 19 seconds left in the period to make it 5-2. Smithson helped set up both of Nichol's goals.

"It's nice when you can chip in that way because you're not really expecting it, especially when it's their power play and you're just trying to kill it off," Nichol said. "We just wanted to come out and play one period at a time. It was a real big game. We know that we play them back-to-back."

Brad Boyes cut the deficit to 5-2 with his team-leading 26th goal with 8:21 remaining in the third, but St. Louis could get no closer.

Nashville opened the scoring as J.P. Dumont deflected a wrist shot by defenseman Ryan Suter past a screened Legace and into the left corner of the net 6:37 into the contest.

"I knew that I tipped it," Dumont said. "Sutes saw me going to the net, and he just took a good wrist shot and I tipped it."

Toivonen stopped 11 shots for the Blues, who were 1-for-4 on the power play.

"This game is a lot about effort and determination, and in our opinion, our effort and determination wasn't strong enough," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "You either have it or you don't have it, and tonight, we didn't have it."