Predators win opener

They beat the Blues in the opener of series as Subban has a goal and two assists.

Vernon Fiddler’s goal with 5:05 left keeps Nashville unbeaten in playoffs.

ST. LOUIS — P.K. Subban had a goal and two assists and Vernon Fiddler scored with 5 minutes 5 seconds left, sending the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their secondround Western Conference playoff series on Wednesday night.

The Predators lost Kevin Fiala to an ugly leg injury in the second period and blew a 3-1 lead before Fiddler poked a loose puck by Jake Allen in the third.

It was the fifth career playoff goal for the 36-yearold Fiddler, who did not play in Nashville’s first-round sweep of Chicago.

Colin Wilson and Filip Forsberg also scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.

Colton Parayko, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka scored for St. Louis. Allen finished with 28 stops.

Fiala was hit by Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and went hard into the boards behind the St. Louis net at 1:46 of the second period. He left the ice on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The team said Fiala was “alert and in stable condition.”

“It was tough,” Subban said of the injury to Fiala. “You never want to see a young kid go down like that and be taken off on a stretcher. I’ve experienced it before and it’s not fun.”