Predators end skid, send Blues to 4-1 loss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- David Legwand scored two goals, Paul Kariya notched his 500th NHL assist, and the Nashville Predators snapped a three-game skid Thursday night by beating the St. Louis Blues 4-1.

Nashville set franchise records with its 50th victory and 108 points. But the Predators had to wait and see how Detroit (110 points) fared against Chicago to know whether they had any hope of winning the Central Division.

Nashville wraps up its regular season Saturday night at Colorado, while Detroit hosts Chicago.

The Predators had been struggling with a three-game home skid that was the longest this season and were in danger of losing a fourth consecutive game for the first time this season. They finally fixed some problems against St. Louis, beating the Blues for the 15th time in 16 games.

Rookie Alexander Radulov and Peter Forsberg also had goals for Nashville, which scored twice on the power play in its final home game of the regular season.

Christian Backman scored the only goal for St. Louis, which had won three of four.

This series has been very tight with nine of the previous 15 games decided by a goal, and St. Louis had incentive because a Blues victory would have ensured the Predators could not catch Detroit for the division title.

But Legwand got the Predators off to the fastest start in franchise history with a goal 11 seconds into the game, a nice change for a team that had been sluggish on home ice recently.

Nashville made that stand up until Backman shot from near the blue line, and the puck beat Tomas Vokoun's outstretched left leg with 10.6 seconds left in the period to tie it at 1-all.

The Predators took control in the span of 28 seconds in the second, starting with Legwand's goal off the power play at 12:02.

Then Radulov scored at 12:30, grabbing a loose puck at the back of the left circle. He cut back to his left and skated up to the net and scored on a wrister.