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Sunday, Dec. 26 8:00pm ET
Preds' Vokoun gets first win this season | |||||
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Nashville Predators ended two slumps in the same game. Backup goalie Tomas Vokoun won for the first time in 11 games and the Predators beat the St. Louis Blues for the first time in six meetings in a 3-2 victory Sunday night. Vokoun, the backup to Mike Dunham, was 0-8-1 with a 3.54 goals-against average this season and 0-9-1 dating to last season. The Blues were 4-0-1 against Nashville since Feb. 20. "I never quit believing in myself," Vokoun said. "I just kept working hard, and tonight I was rewarded for all my hard work." The Predators have a modest five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3), which is a record for the year-old franchise. The Blues' six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) came to an end, although they held the Predators to four shots the last 26 minutes and 16 shots overall. "To score three goals against these guys the way they've been playing is absolutely unheard of," Predators defenseman Bill Houlder said. "To beat these guys in their building is a definite step in the right direction for us." This was the fifth of six meetings since Nov. 22 this season, and the Blues were 3-0-1 the first four. The Predators tightened up on defense considerably after a 2-2 tie Thursday at Nashville, cutting the Blues' shots from 46 to 28. "When you see a team as much as we have recently and they haven't beaten us, there's motivation on their side," coach Joel Quenneville said. "They played well the other games against us and they finally got the win." The Blues outscored the Predators 12-7 the first four games, winning by two goals twice and one once. "It's been a long time coming," left wing Ville Peltonen said. "I'm happy we won and I'm also very happy for our goaltender. He played great and kept their best players from scoring in the third period with the game on the line." Nashville scored all three goals in the second period -- all from rookies -- and defenseman Karlis Skrastins got the go-ahead score at 14:04 for his first point in 14 games. David Legwand and Randy Robitaille also scored for the Predators. "This is the biggest goal I've ever scored in my life," Skrastins said. Pierre Turgeon had two assists for the Blues, tying the team record of 10 straight games with an assist held by Bernie Federko and Craig Janney. Turgeon has five goals and 13 assists during an 11-game scoring streak. Chris Pronger and Pavol Demitra scored power-play goals for the Blues, who outscored opponents 21-7 during the unbeaten streak. St. Louis lost only once (7-1-3) in its previous 11 home games. "They don't give you a whole lot," Pronger said. "We had a few breakdowns and they were able to capitalize on it, plain and simple." Pronger skated in alone after a backhand setup at the blue line from Turgeon and beat Vokoun from the left faceoff dot at 12:08 of the first period. Legwand tied it with his eighth goal, also on a backhander, at 4:51 of the second. Demitra scored his 16th goal on a rebound on a power play to put the Blues back in front at 8:50, but the Predators answered on Robitaille's backhander at the 10-minute mark and Skrastins' high drive from the left point. Skrastins' first point in 14 games came on the counter-attack after the Blues had tested Vokoun on the other end. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Nashville Clubhouse St. Louis Clubhouse RECAPS New Jersey 3 NY Rangers 3
Nashville 3
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