Thomas scores twice and the Blues beat the Predators 7-4

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robert Thomas scored twice, Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 7-4 on Friday night.

Joel Hofer made 26 saves for the Blues, and defenseman Cam Fowler added a goal and two assists.

Zack Bolduc, Philip Broberg and Colton Parayko also scored for St. Louis. Dylan Holloway had two assists.

Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist for Nashville. Mark Jankowski and Nick Blankenburg also scored.

Predators goalie Juuse Saros was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 15 shots.

Thomas scores twice and the Blues beat the Predators 7-4 | iNFOnews.ca — St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou (25) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Thomas scored the first goal of the game and got another one on a power play at 15:10 of the third period off assists from Kyrou and Fowler to make it 6-4.

Parayko added an empty-netter with 1:15 remaining.

St. Louis scored on its first two shots. Thomas got an unassisted goal 1:20 into the game when he picked off a pass by Gustav Nyquist and scored with a wrist shot. Bolduc then fired in a slap shot from the right circle at 2:47.

Takeaways

Predators: Saros was pulled after he poked the puck directly to Broberg, who scored unassisted from the left circle at 15:29 of the second to make it 5-3. Justus Annunen replaced Saros and made 12 saves on 13 shots.

Blues: Hofer improved to 5-0-1 in his last seven appearances. He is 8-3-1 this season.

Key moment

Fowler gave St. Louis a 4-2 lead at 18:05 of the first with a slap shot from inside the blue line for his first goal of the season. St. Louis acquired him from Anaheim in a Dec. 14 trade.

Key stat

Thomas has 18 points in his last 12 games (six goals, 12 assists).