ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ryan O’Reilly scored for Nashville in his return to St. Louis, and the Predators beat the Blues 8-3 on Friday for their fourth consecutive victory.
Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista each had two goals and an assist for Nashville, which dropped six of seven right before its win streak. Kiefer Sherwood had a goal and two assists, and Yakov Ternin and rookie Spencer Stastney also scored.
It was O'Reilly's first game back at Enterprise Center since his trade from the Blues to Toronto in February. The forward signed with the Predators in free agency this summer.
O’Reilly was the 2019 Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the Blues’ Stanley Cup Championship playoff run. The team recognized its former captain with a tribute on the videoboard during a first-period break.
Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours scored for the Blues, who had won two in a row. Joel Hofer made 11 saves on 15 shots before he was replaced by Jordan Binnington in the second period.
Nashville goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 36 shots.
Nashville scored 28 seconds apart in the first period to take an early lead, and then added another one later in the period.
The Predators went up 1-0 at 6:57 when Forsberg tapped the puck in from the crease. Trenin got his third goal at 7:25, finishing a 3-on-1 advantage. A review showed Hofer knocked the puck in the goal with his skate.
Evangelista knocked in a rebound of a shot by Sherwood at 14:53, giving Nashville a 3-0 advantage.
Stastney scored his first NHL goal 2:45 into the second, lifting the Predators to a 4-1 lead. Hofer was then replaced by Binnington.
The reverse happened Wednesday night in Arizona when Binnington was pulled in the second and Hofer entered. The Blues went on to a 6-5 win over the Coyotes.
The switch didn’t slow down Nashville at all. O’Reilly scored a power-play goal at 4:46 for his 10th this season. Evangelista scored 74 seconds later. Forsberg snapped in a wrist shot at 17:29.
UP NEXT
Predators: Host Edmonton on Sunday night.
Blues: Play Sunday afternoon at Chicago.
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