NASHVILLE: The St. Louis Blues handed the Nashville Predators their first regulation loss of the NHL season with a 3-0 win Thursday that tightened up a very competitive Central Division. St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season and 11th overall, as the gap between first and last in the division was cut to two points. Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and Matt D'Agostini scored for the Blues. Nashville has lost four straight at home, dropping the first three in overtime. Kings 5, Stars 2: In Dallas, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Wayne Simmonds scored 9 seconds apart in the second period to help Los Angeles defeat Dallas. Dustin Brown added a power-play goal for the Kings, Willie Mitchell scored short-handed, Jack Johnson had three assists, while goalie Jonathan Quick made 30 saves. Justin Williams added a late empty-netter for L.A., which has won four straight in Texas. Brad Richards and Brandon Segal scored for Dallas. The crowd was the smallest since the Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, with many fans staying home to watch the Texas Rangers in baseball's World Series. Avalanche 6, Flames 5: In Calgary, Chris Stewart scored three goals for his second NHL hat trick as Colorado took a thriller over Calgary. Stewart has eight goals in 10 games this season. He also had three goals last March against St. Louis. Daniel Winnik broke the 5-5 tie with 2:20 left. Brandon Yip and T.J. Galiardi also scored for Colorado. Niklas Hagman, Tim Jackman, Matt Stajan, Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay scored for Calgary. Wild 2, Capitals 1: In St. Paul, Minnesota slowed down speedy Washington in a victory over the suddenly punchless Capitals. Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom stopped 21 shots, Chuck Kobasew got his first goal of the season and Mikko Koivu scored for Minnesota's league-leading power play. Washington's Alex Ovechkin scored late, snapping a five-game scoreless streak, but the Capitals were held to a season-low 22 shots on goal. Bruins 2, Maple Leafs 0: In Boston, Tim Thomas remained unbeaten this season, stopping 20 shots to earn his second shutout, as Boston beat Toronto. Coyotes 4, Red Wings 2: In Detroit, Ilya Bryzgalov made 43 saves to help preserve Phoenix's win over Detroit. Lauri Korpikoski scored twice, while Radim Vrbata and Keith Yandle also netted for the Coyotes. Blue Jackets 3, Oilers 2, SO: In Columbus, Nikita Filatov and Rick Nash scored in the shootout to lift Columbus over Edmonton. Senators 5, Panthers 3: In Ottawa, the hosts won consecutive games for the first time this season, downing Florida. Milan Michalek, Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson each had a goal and an assist, and Zack Smith and Alex Kovalev also scored for the Senators.
