St. Louis Blues’ Jay Bouwmeester, 19, reaches for the puck with Nashville Predators’ Matt Hendricks, 26, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in St. Louis.ST. LOUIS – David Backes and his St. Louis Blues teammates were just trying to keep pace with the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Backes had a goal and assist in the first period to lead the Blues to a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the season opener for both teams.
St. Louis scored three times in the first 9:45 to jump in front 3-0 and chase Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.
The early scoring came on the heels of the Cardinals’ 9-1 win over Pittsburgh in the opening game of the NL Division Series.
The start of the hockey game was moved back 30 minutes to allow the fans time to make the five-block trek from Busch Stadium,