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Blues Shut Out by Predators, End 2016 on a Sour Note

By Richard Bradley

Dec 30, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Carter Hutton (40) makes a save against Nashville Predators left wing Colin Wilson (33) as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) defends during the third period at Scottrade Center. The Predators won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Carter Hutton (40) makes a save against Nashville Predators left wing Colin Wilson (33) as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) defends during the third period at Scottrade Center. The Predators won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Nashville Predators bested the St. Louis Blues 4-0 at the Scottrade Center.

On Friday night, the Blues fell behind early and never could find a rhythm.

During the opening period, St. Louis outshot Nashville 9-6 but failed to score a goal or capitalize on a couple of power plays. Defensively, goalie Jake Allen had a rough outing, allowing three goals on 14 shots in his two periods of play. He was pulled in favor of Carter Hutton.

Nashville Predators defenseman Yannick Weber scored his first goal since April of 2015 early in the second to open up the scoring.

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Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

“It was a nice pass play by (Craig) Smith,” Weber said. “If you get that opportunity you’ve got to put in the back of the net.”

Predators wing Filip Forsberg scored his fifth goal in six games to put Nashville up 2-0. Viktor Arvidsson showed some impressive puck mastery to get around St.Louis’ Jay Bouwmeester, extending Nashville’s lead to three with 2:24 left in the second period. Colin Wilson scored Nashville’s fourth and final goal on the night during the third.

Juuse Saros, the Predators’ 21-year-old Finnish goalie made the case for more ice time by tallying 25 saves in his seventh career start. His effort attracted attention, especially from his coach Peter Laviolette, who had this to say: “He made some important saves throughout the game and he made some big saves at the end of the game.”

Once more, St. Louis played uninspired hockey and paid the price.

Center Paul Stastny acknowledged the listlessness in an interview after the game.

Next: 10 Wishes for a Better 2017 in St. Louis Sports

“It seems like once they scored that one goal or two, for some reason it took the life out of us, which I don’t know why it does that. We’ve got to be better within a group of 20 guys to find that energy, especially on home ice.”

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