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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Just in time for the St. Louis Blues, Roman
Turek is emerging from a slump.
Turek stopped 19 shots for his sixth shutout and Keith Tkachuk
scored in the first period as the Blues beat the Nashville
Predators 1-0 on Saturday night in their final playoff tuneup.
"I think my confidence is back," Turek said. "It's the most
important thing for me. If I play with confidence, I play a
different style."
Turek shut out the Predators for the second time this season. He
has won only three of his last 14 starts (3-7-4), but has allowed
just one goal over the last two games.
Turek, whose last shutout was Jan. 20 against Vancouver, also
blanked the Predators on Nov. 24 in Nashville. The Blues limited
the Predators to five shots in the first period and seven each in
the second and third periods.
"It was a perfect game for us," Turek said. "They didn't have
many scoring chances."
The Blues, the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 103
points, were 2-0-1 in a closing three-game homestand and will play
the San Jose Sharks in the first round beginning either Wednesday
or Thursday. The matchup is a repeat of last spring, when the Blues
won the President's Trophy with a franchise-record 114 points but
were eliminated by the lowly Sharks.
"It's nice to get a little momentum going into the playoffs,"
Tkachuk said. "It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win the
series, but it's definitely a step in the right direction."
Tkachuk, acquired at the trading deadline from Phoenix, gives
the Blues a physical presence they lacked in their first-round
playoff exit last season. He has 25 points on nine goals and 16
assists in the last 22 games.
Tkachuk deflected a pass from Pavol Demitra past Mike Dunham on
a 2-on-1 break at 16:51 of the first for his 35th goal.
"Tkachuk brings his lunch pail every day, hangs around in front
of the goal, which he did tonight, and gets the ugly goals,"
Dunham said. "They had a good team and now they're even better
with Tkachuk."
Dunham had a strong game with 26 saves for the Predators, who
were 6-4-1 in their last 11 games. His biggest saves came in the
third period, when he stopped Cory Stillman on a break-in at 10:37
and Pierre Turgeon on a deflection in front with 3:34 to go.
The Predators missed a chance to finish at .500, ending up
34-36-9-3.
"Our guys played like it was opening night," defenseman Bill
Houlder said. "Not very many teams out of the playoffs will give
the effort we gave tonight."
Game notes
Blues forward Mike Eastwood, who hasn't scored a goal in 30
games, was among the team's scratches. ... Blues forward Jochen
Hecht returned from a seven-game absence due to a side injury and
assisted on the first goal. Hecht had 10 points in St. Louis'
first-round playoff loss to the Sharks last year. ... A crowd of
19,952 was the Blues' 35th sellout in 41 dates. ... The Blues won
the season series 3-2. ... The Predators allowed only 21 goals in
their last 13 games. ... The Blues allowed two or fewer goals in 45
games and lost only three of them (34-3-8).
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NHL Scoreboard
Nashville Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Colorado 3
Florida 3
NY Rangers 0
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 3
Dallas 5
San Jose 4
Boston 4
NY Islanders 2
New Jersey 2
Montreal 0
Ottawa 5
Toronto 3
St. Louis 1
Nashville 0
Los Angeles 3
Calgary 2
Edmonton 4
Vancouver 2
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