Predators Lose to the Blues 2-0 and Wait to See Who They Face in the Playoffs

The St. Louis Blues, behind goaltender Jaroslav Halak, shut out the Nashville Predators 2-0 at the Scottrade Center on Saturday night ending the Predators' hopes of a fourth seed and home ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was Halak's third shutout of the Predators this season and gave the Blues a 4-1-1 season record against the Predators. Halak stopped all 24 Predator shots.

This was the first meeting between the two teams where the Blues were healthy. Had they fielded this squad all season, they may have been headed to the playoffs along with the Predators.

The Blues game winning goal came from T. J. Oshie at at 5:20 in the second period. The goal from Alex Steen with 49 seconds remaining was the icing on the cake for the Blues.

Pekka Rinne gathered third star honors for stopping 23 of 25 Blues shots.

The Predators showed signs of fatigue against a Blues team that was fresh and had nothing to lose in front of a sellout crowd celebrating their fan appreciation night.

The Preds were slow out of the box in the first period losing the Corsi 18-10. They provided more pressure in the final two periods leading the Corsi 20-13 and 18-15 but Halak was stopping everything that came his way.

Patric Hornqvist had six shots and Mike Fisher had four to lead the Predators goal-less attack. In a game with few stoppages, the Preds took 22 of 40 face-offs with Blake Geoffrion winning seven of eight draws.

The Predators returned home after the game and will wait to see where they will travel next Wednesday or Thursday to open their first round series on the road.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass