Sports · NEWS EXPLAINER
Predators beat Blues 5–2: penalty shot, short-handed goal and five different scorers
Nashville answered an early deficit through three scoring states, then pulled away in the third. The exact sequence explains why the 5–2 final was more varied than a routine five-goal night.
Nashville beat St. Louis 5–2 at Bridgestone Arena on October 17. Jonathan Marchessault tied the game on a penalty shot, Filip Forsberg put the Predators ahead at even strength, and Adam Edstrom extended the lead short-handed before Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Drury closed the result in the third period.
A penalty shot erased the early deficit
Philip Broberg gave St. Louis a 1–0 lead at 6:21 of the first period after a Nashville turnover. Less than two and a half minutes later, Jordan Binnington was called for throwing his stick while the Predators were on the power play.
Marchessault converted the resulting penalty shot at 8:40. Reuters/Field Level Media reported that it was Nashville’s first successful penalty shot since Viktor Arvidsson scored one on April 8, 2021; the Predators had missed seven in between.
Forsberg supplied the lead Nashville kept
Forsberg scored his first goal of the season at 12:22 of the first, collecting a loose puck after a Steven Stamkos backhand missed and completing a wraparound. It made the score 2–1.
The goal mattered beyond ending Forsberg’s early-season drought: it was the moment Nashville moved in front for good. He also assisted later, finishing with two points.
Special teams traded goals 31 seconds apart
Edstrom made it 3–1 at 7:05 of the second period while Nashville was short-handed, redirecting Roman Josi’s feed. It was his second short-handed goal in three games.
St. Louis answered on the same power play. Jimmy Snuggerud scored 31 seconds later at 7:36, cutting the margin to one. The response kept the game close but did not undo Nashville’s multi-state scoring advantage.
The third period separated the teams
O’Reilly followed his own rebound at 2:50 of the third period to restore a two-goal margin. Drury then redirected a Josi pass at 8:14 for his first goal with Nashville, setting the final score.
Juuse Saros finished with 24 saves. Binnington made 19. Nashville ended a three-game winless stretch and improved to 3–2–3; St. Louis fell to 3–4–1 after a second consecutive loss.
What the scoring mix proves—and what it does not
Five different Nashville skaters scored. The first three goals came by penalty shot, at even strength and short-handed, so the result was not built on one repeatable matchup or one power-play surge.
One game does not prove that this breadth will persist. The fixed takeaway is narrower: Nashville created and converted chances in several game states, then protected the lead after St. Louis briefly answered.
