ST. LOUIS _ The Blues put up a fight _ two fights actually in the opening 75 seconds _ and rode that physical play to a resounding 6-2 victory over Nashville on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Pat Maroon and Brayden Schenn set the tone for the night, engaging in fights with Austin Watson and Ryan Hartman, respectively, of the Predators.
Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O'Reilly, Brayden Schenn, Zach Sanford, Robby Fabbri and Alex Pietrangelo all scored for the Blues, who had been shut out in three of their previous five games.
Schenn assisted on Pietrangelo's goal late in the third period, giving him the Gordie Howe hat trick for the night _ a goal, an assist and a fight.
The victory improved the Blues' record to 8-10-3, snapping a three-game losing streak. It was coach Craig Berube's first victory since taking over for Mike Yeo following Monday's 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. And his first victory as an NHL coach since April 7, 2015 _ a 5-4 Philadelphia win over the New York Islanders when Berube was coaching the Flyers.
Nashville still shares the overall NHL lead in the standings with 33 points. The Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning have identical 16-6-1 records.
Just like Wednesday's Blues-Predators contest in Nashville, this was a physical contest, with lots of hitting and several mini-scuffles (beyond the Maroon and Schenn fights). But this time the Blues were on the opposite end of the scoreboard, having lost 4-1 in Nashville.
Unofficially, the Blues were credited with 29 hits, their second-highest total of the season.
