Elliott gets third shutout in row as Blues top Predators

Elliott gets third shutout in row as Blues top Predators

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his third straight shutout and Jamie Langenbrunner broke a scoreless tie in the second period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.

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Twisters' President Jack Lankford with his wife Meg

St. Louis, which improved to 30-4-4 at home, has an NHL-leading 105 points - two ahead of the New York Rangers in the battle for the President's Trophy. St. Louis leads Vancouver by four points in the Western Conference standings.

Elliott improved to 23-9-3 with his league-leading ninth shutout. He has not allowed a goal in a franchise-record 186:33, eclipsing the old mark of 186:15 set by Manny Legace from Dec.28, 2007 to Jan. 28, 2008.

Nashville, which needs one point to earn a playoff spot, snapped a two-game winning streak.

David Perron and T.J. Oshie added third-period goals for the Blues. Perron scored his 17th of the season at 4:47 and Oshie got his 19th to make it 3-0 with 4 minutes to go.

Oshie also assisted on Perron's goal and David Backes added two assists.

Langenbrunner scored his sixth goal at 6:35 off a drop pass from Jason Arnott. Langenbrunner snapped a shot past Pekka Rinne, who fell to 41-17-8. Rinne had stopped 48-of-50 shots in winning his last two starts.

Langenbrunner was appearing in his 1,100th game. The Duluth, Min., native is the 21st American-born player to reach the 1,100-game plateau.

Elliott made 20 saves over the first two periods, including stopping Alexander Radulov from close range in the first. Elliott has not given up a goal since Carolina's Jeff Skinner scored with 2:38 left in the third period of a 2-0 loss March 15.

The Predators were without leading scorer Martin Erat, who missed his second game in a row with an upper-body injury. Winger Jordin Tootoo, injured in a fight with Chicago winger Brandon Bollig on Sunday, also missed the contest.

Notes: Nashville coach Barry Trotz has 499 career wins. ... St. Louis has allowed two or fewer goals in 22-of-28 games since the All-Star break. ... The Blues have points in nine of their last 11 games against Nashville. ... Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have combined for a franchise-record 15 shutouts this season. ... Nashville is 15-4-3 against Central Division foes.