In Nashville, Kyle Turris‘ strike with just over two minutes left in regulation gave the Predators a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish in a win over the St Louis Blues on Sunday night. 
“It was just a battle tonight,” Turris said. “They had a real good pushback for the whole game coming off of [Saturday], and [Pekka Rinne] kept us in it. He was playing phenomenal. Just to stick with it and battle and grind it out, find a way to win, it’s real important for us right now with the position we’re in.”
Rinne made 38 saves in the win.
“I feel like we can be honest, it’s been a struggle for the most part this year after October,” Rinne said. “We had a fairly good start, but after that it’s been full of ups and downs. Lately, I think it shows in our game that we play with a lot of passion, just gutsy plays. I feel like we’ve changed the way we play the game. Obviously, it’s [Predators coach John Hynes], but it’s the players buying into it. I think it shows.”
Tyler Bozak was the lone scorer for the Glues.
“We had a lot of chances, we just didn’t finish,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said. “[Rinne] played really well and we didn’t finish. We had plenty of chances, though. We didn’t score enough, and they ended up getting one chance and it went in.”
Craig Smith potted a goal to give the Preds a 1-0 lead in the middle frame: he has six goals in the last five games.
“This is the time of the year you want [confidence] to be growing,” Turris said. “You want to get hot at the right time. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do and ground to make up, but at the same time, we’re trying to move in the right direction.”
[WATCH: All Blues vs. Predators highlights]
Jordan Binnington made 22 saves in the loss.
The Blues have lost 10 of their last 12 games.
“It’s a tough time right now,” Berube said. “We’re playing a lot of good hockey but we’re not coming up with wins. But if we keep competing and working like we did the last two games, we’re going to be OK. That’s one of the best games I think we’ve played all year.”
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