NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ There are only so many points you can expect to get when you score as little as the Blues are right now. They snuck out one on Wednesday against Chicago when they scored just one goal but on Thursday, one goal was not enough to get anything.
Even though the Blues took a rare early lead, scoring less than four minutes into the game, they gave up three goals in about 6 { minutes spanning the second and third periods and fell 3-1 to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
The game had many of the trappings of recent Blues' games. There was a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty for the second straight game and two delay of game penalties for flipping the puck into the stands, running the count to four in the past two games.
In the past 12 games, the Blues have scored more than two goals just twice. In those 10 games, they have managed to get seven points, which is a testament to the value of clipping coupons.
The Blues have scored 22 goals in their past 12 games, and 11 of the goals have come in two games. The other 11 have been spread out over 10 games. They now have one or fewer eight times in 12 games.
Nashville had 8:43 of power-play time in the game, compared to four minutes for the Blues. The Blues' penalty kill was perfect, but those extra minutes are starting to add up. The Blues had to kill 8:24 of power-play time against the Blackhawks the night before.
The game marred the return to Nashville of Blues goalie Carter Hutton, who played three seasons for the Predators. Hutton didn't need to be spectacular but he continued to play well. He faced 28 shots while the Blues had 24 shots on goal.
After two sets of back-to-backs in six days, the Blues get a day off before playing at Columbus on Saturday.
In an effort to boost the offense, coach Ken Hitchcock made Robby Fabbri a healthy scratch for the first time in his career and put Nail Yakupov back in the lineup, putting him on a line with Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen. The group was productive, but, as has been the norm for the team, couldn't put the puck in the net.
The Blues scored in the first period for only the second time in the past nine games. Colton Parayko kept the puck in the zone, Vladimir Tarasenko fed it to Jaden Schwartz, who beat Pekka Rinne to the short side under his glove. It was the second goal in three games for Schwartz and the fourth straight game with a point for Tarasenko.
The Blues were able to keep the lead because whenever the Predators had a good chance, they shot wildly. Nashville was credited with nine shots on goal in the period and seven that were off target.
The Blues penalty kill was put to the test again in the second period, having to deal with 4 minutes, 43 seconds of Nashville power plays including 1:17 of five-on-three, the second consecutive game the Blues have had to kill more than 70 seconds down two men. They did it again _ the Blues are a perfect 3-3 in killing two-man advantages _ but the stress it puts on the players who have to kill them may have been a factor when Calle Jarnkrok scored with 1:34 to go in the second to tie the game.
The Blues didn't think they should have been down two men. The first penalty was a delay of game call on Hutton for flipping the puck into the stands and the second was a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty that the Blues hotly contested. The puck came in front of the bench as the Blues were making a personnel change and the referee ruled it had hit someone who was coming off, which the Blues disagreed with.
Nashville won the game with two goals in 1:06 at the start of the third period. The first came when James Neal put in a perfectly placed pass from Mike Ribeiro 3:44 to go in the third and then Jarnkrok got his second of the game after Mike Fisher took the puck away from Paul Stastny along the boards in the Blues' end.
The Blues lifted Hutton with 2:21 to go when Nashville was called for a penalty, but even with a two-man advantage, they couldn't generate anything.
