Blues beat Predators 4-1 to extend winning streak to six games
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Kyrou scored his 30th goal of the season, and Robert Thomas had three assists to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Sunday night for their sixth straight win.
Brayden Schenn, Alexandre Texier and Justin Faulk also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves for the Blues who now hold a four-point lead over Calgary for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
Filip Forsberg scored, and Justus Annunen made 14 saves for Nashville, which has lost five of its last six games.
Faulk's fourth goal of the season put St. Louis ahead 3-1 10:30 into the third period.
Forsberg scored his 28th goal of the season on a power play 1:04 into the second period to cut Nashville's deficit to 2-1.
Texier scored his first goal since Feb. 5 on a power play to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead with 3:03 remaining in the first period.
Kyrou scored 12:13 into the first period to put St. Louis on top 1-0. Kyrou has scored 30 goals for the third consecutive season. Takeaways
Predators: Nashville's playoff hopes are mathematically hanging by a thread as the Predators trail St. Louis for the second Western Conference wild-card spot by 21 points with 12 games to play.
Blues: Dalibor Dvorsky, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, made his NHL debut with Pavel Buchnevich (illness) and Oskar Sundqvist (maintenance day) scratched. Key moment
Blues forward Zack Bolduc was issued a major penalty and a game misconduct with 6:27 remaining in the third period for cross-checking Nick Blankenburg in retaliation for Blankenburg sticking out his knee to trip Thomas. Blankenburg received a minor penalty on the play. Key stat
St. Louis is 12-2-2 in 16 games since returning from the Four Nations Face-Off Up next
Nashville plays at Carolina and St. Louis hosts Montreal on Tuesday night.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Pacers an 'acquired taste.' In Game 2, OKC Thunder swallowed Indiana up to even NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called the Indiana Pacers an acquired taste. 'We haven't played them a ton,' Daigneault said. 'They're not in the West obviously. They play a very distinct style on both ends.' After wasting an opportunity to win Game 1, the Thunder were left with a bitter aftertaste against the never-quit Pacers. The Thunder devoured the Pacers in Game 2 Sunday evening the NBA Finals with a 123-107 victory. NBA Finals Game 2 box score, stats: Thunder rolls as OKC evens series vs. Pacers While the Pacers stole homecourt advantage, they haven't played great and it's starting to become an issue as the series moves to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4. 'Another bad first half,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'Obviously, it was a big problem, and we just played poorly. A little bit better in the second half but you can't be a team that's reactive and expect to be successful or have consistency.' At this stage, the Pacers cannot rely on their ability to complete a comeback. They need to start better, and now, it's on Carlisle and his staff to figure that out. Indiana trailed by as many as 23 points, and while the comebacks have been compelling, it's not a recipe for playoff success. 'We're going to have to be a lot better on Wednesday,' Carlisle said. The Thunder were more physical, dominated the paint for the second consecutive game and limited Tyrese Haliburton to a quiet 17 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter when Oklahoma City had control of the game and was not in the mood to blow another double-digit lead. How did the Pacers handle Oklahoma City's physicality? 'Not well,' Carlisle said. 'They were the best in the league during the year at keeping people out of there (paint). They are great at it. We have to find ways to get the ball in there, and you know, it's just there are so many things that have to go right on a set of two possessions to get the ball into the heart of their defense.' Throughout the season and especially the playoffs, the Thunder's top-ranked defense finds a way to take away or limit the opponent's strengths. They did it against Denver and Minnesota in the Western Conference semifinals and finals. 'Our offense is built from the inside-out, and we have to do a better job getting downhill,' Haliburton said. 'They collapse and make plays from there. I thought we could improve a lot there. But yeah, they are flying around. They have got great point-of-attack defenders and great rim protectors. We can do a better job, watch the film, and see where we can get better going into Game 3.' What about Haliburton's performance? 'There's a lot more to the game than just scoring. … People shouldn't just look at his points and assists and judge how he played, or judge how any of our guys played just on that,' Carlisle said. 'That's not how our team is built. We are an ecosystem that has to function together. We've got to score enough points to win the game but who gets them and how they get them, not important.' Pascal Siakam found no consolation in getting a split and grabbing homecourt advantage in the series. 'You want to win every game you play, so we are not happy with how the game went today, and that's it,' he said. 'We've just got to turn the page, focus on Game 3. That's the biggest game of the year.' This series is much closer to being a 2-0 Thunder lead than a 2-0 Pacers lead, and between Game 1 and 2, Carlisle compared a playoff series to a book. 'Each game in this series is going to look different,' he said. 'A playoff series is a series of seven chapters, and each one takes on a different personality.' If the Pacers don't find a way to start the next chapter better than they have, the book is going to close quickly on their championship aspirations.
Fox Sports
5 hours ago
- Fox Sports
David Ayala scores in stoppage time to give Timbers 2-1 win over St. Louis
Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — David Ayala scored in stoppage time to give the Timbers a 2-1 victory over St. Louis City on Sunday, extending Portland's unbeaten streak at home to eight games. Ayala's goal came in the second minute of second-half stoppage time off a corner kick. After a scoreless first half in temperatures that soared into the 90s Fahrenheit, Akil Watts scored in the 50th minute to put St. Louis City (3-8-6) ahead. Five minutes later, Antony fooled a defender and put his shot from atop the box into the upper far corner to pull the Timbers (7-4-6) even. It was Antony's team-leading sixth goal of the season. The match was City's second under David Critchley, who took over after the team fired Olof Mellberg. St. Louis beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in Critchley's debut to end its 11-match regular-season winless streak. St. Louis peppered Portland goalkeeper James Pantemis with eight shots on goal, but he made seven saves. St. Louis counterpart Roman Burki made four saves. ___ AP soccer: recommended
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nikola Vucevic on the defensive greatness of Alex Caruso: "It is a luxury to have that type of player"
Nikola Vucevic on the defensive greatness of Alex Caruso: "It is a luxury to have that type of player" originally appeared on Basketball Network. When discussing the best and most hard-nosed perimeter defenders in today's NBA, names like Jrue Holiday, Dyson Daniels and Herbert Jones often dominate the conversation. However, one player who constantly flies under the radar is Alex Caruso. For his former teammate Nikola Vucevic, it has become imperative that the 6'5" guard receives the recognition he deserves. Advertisement Moreover, "Bald Mamba's" relentless energy, fearless defense against any opponent - regardless of position - and unwavering commitment to give his maximum effort on both ends of the floor, in Vucevic's view, have given the Oklahoma City Thunder the undeniable dominant edge throughout the 2024-25 campaign. Vucevic wants Caruso's efforts to be recognized When contemplating the Thunder's consistent success over the past two years - attaining the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference - and even reaching the NBA Finals this time around, instantly the credit is handed to Shai Gilgeous Alexander for averaging over 30 points per game or Jalen Williams to be a reliant second option or to Lu Dort for providing high-quality two-way effort in every game. But Vucevic pointed to Caruso's championship pedigree and leadership as intangibles that help shape the team's identity. "He knows his role on a team. He wants that challenge and wants to compete against the best opposing players and play to the best of his abilities. You see him now with Oklahoma; he is guarding from one to five. He has that in himself and he is a smart defensive player. He understands what other players plan to do on the court and knows how to bother them. He is always in attack mode and is a pest on defense. He irritates you constantly which also brings a psychological element to the game because he annoys the opposing players," Vucevic said. "He is an x-factor that makes a difference. He will play good defense, make big shots. It is a luxury to have that type of player," Nikola concluded. It's hard not to admit that Vucevic summed it up perfectly. One of the most underrated reasons why OKC was able to overcome the 2023 NBA champs - Denver Nuggets - in the second round was because of AC elevating his scoring average to 10.4 points per game as well as being fearless even when told to guard a bigger opponent in Nikola Jokic. Advertisement Similarly, in the WCFs, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the 2020 NBA champion played a huge role in limiting the scoring averages of both Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, constantly being in their face and not allowing them room to even fire shot attempts. Related: "God, if you let me get through this, I won't play no more" - Larry Bird describes the moment that made him retire for good Caruso is Thunder's X factor Following the Indiana Pacers' dramatic comeback win in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals - overcoming a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit - the pressure now shifts to OKC's young core. In such moments, the leadership and experience of Caruso will be vital in re-centering the team. Advertisement Not only will he need to motivate his teammates, but he'll also be tasked with neutralizing threats like Tyrese Haliburton during key stretches in the games ahead. While SGA and Williams might get the credit for OKC's success if they were to win it all this time around, it is Alex's grit, resilience, and defensive tenacity that has helped Thunder have a killer edge in the way they're playing. Related: Alex Caruso said LeBron James and Rajon Rondo taught him how to see plays before they happen: "It's like chess… they're two moves ahead" This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
