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 Coach Ken Hitchcock liked the way it looked.
The Blues welcomed right winger T.J. Oshie back after missing seven
games with a concussion, center Paul Stastny played his fourth game
after missing eight games with a shoulder injury and both
contributed goals to the 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators.
Oshie got his first goal of the year just 3:25 into the first period
and Stastny scored his first goal since the season opener for the
winner that broke a 3-3 tie at 14:06 of the third period.
The victory was the Blues' ninth in their last 10 games and moved
them back into first place in the Central Division, one point ahead
of the Predators, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
The only loss for St. Louis in its last 10 games was 2-1 to
Nashville last Saturday.
"Oshie really helped us tonight," Hitchcock said. "He played a lot
of minutes and gave us what we needed. It was really good to see.
There's lots of options, more options than we've ever had."
While Oshie and Stastny were sidelined, they watched the line of
right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, center Jori Lehtera and left winger
Jadem Schwartz have a great deal of success, and both said it was
nice to be able to make a contribution.
 "It's been kind of a weird start for me," said Stastny, who signed
with his hometown team as a free agent on July 1. "I knew before the
season it was going to take awhile to get used to guys and get used
to the system and sometimes you tend to overthink out there instead
of playing. It's a win, that's the most important thing.
"It's early in the season, but when you have a line carrying you
like this and find ways to win, that's huge.
"But they are going to slow down a little bit and then other lines
are going to step up. It's a long year. I've got to be patient with
it. Every game I've been back I've gotten a little more comfortable
and that's important."
Stastny played through a knee injury in the season opener, then hurt
a shoulder in the fourth game of the season. Thursday night was only
the fifth game this season both he and Oshie were on the ice
together, and in those games the Blues were still missing defenseman
Carl Gunnarsson.
Stastny's goal came when he deflected a shot by defenseman Kevin
Shattenkirk, re-directing the puck between the legs of goalie
Patrick Rinne.
The Predators had twice fought back from deficits to tie the score,
first at 2-2 and then again at 3-3 on a power-play goal by
defenseman Roman Josi with less than one second to play in the
second period.
"Our guys played hard, but we didn't win the game," Predators coach
Peter Laviolette said. "They competed and they fought, but we came
out on the wrong side. Anytime you come back from a deficit, it's
difficult and we did it a couple of times."
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Defenseman Shea Weber and center Filip Forsberg had the other
Nashville goals. Forsberg has now scored at least one goal in six
consecutive games.
Gunnarsson and Tarasenko also scored for the Blues.
"We know they're one of the top teams in the league," Weber said.
"The division is tough. There are no easy games and we know it's
going to be a lot of fun, a character test. These are the games you
like to play in."
For Oshie, it didn't really matter who the Blues were playing. He
just wanted to be back on the ice. He did not know until just a few
hours before game time that he would receive medical clearance to
play.
"I was just excited to be playing hockey," Oshie said. "I went
through the whole day preparing to play. I wanted to make sure when
I came back I was ready to play my full game.
"I waited until I was ready. I felt good. After Sunday, I thought it
was still going to be 10 days to a couple of weeks, but I made some
big strides since then."
NOTES: The Blues activated RW T.J. Oshie from injured reserve before
the game. Oshie missed seven games because of a concussion suffered
on Oct. 28. ... The Blues also returned RW Dmitij Jaskin to Chicago
of the AHL on Thursday. ... Thursday night's game was the first time
this season the Blues had their entire projected lineup on the ice.
RW Ryan Reaves also returned after missing Tuesday night's game with
a sore ankle. ... The Predators did not hold a morning skate on
Thursday. ... The Predators return home to host the Winnipeg Jets on
Saturday night and the Blues will conclude a five-game homestand
with a game against the Washington Capitals.
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