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ST. LOUIS - The Nashville Predators expected a tough game when came to St. Louis to face the streaking Blues. They were more than up to the challenge.James Neal and Filip Forsberg each had a goal and an assist as Nashville beat St. Louis 2-1, snapping the Blues seven-game winning streak and moving past them into first place in the Central Division.Its a game we marked down on our road trip that it was going to be tough, Neal said. To come in here and be a point behind them, we knew what was at stake. Theyre on a little roll, and we came in and played a great 60 minutes.Forsberg has five goals in five games and his 15 points and nine assists lead all rookies.I got to thank the whole team and especially my line mates for my success, Forsberg said. Theyve been setting me up really good. I try to set them up as well.Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for Nashville, which won in St. Louis for the first time in seven trips and for the second time in the teams last 12 meetings overall. The Predators finished 4-2 on their six-game trip.Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said Rinne was a big reason for the successful trip and start to the season.Hes been steady the whole time, Laviollette said. Hes been rock sold all year.Jori Lehtera scored for St. Louis and Brian Elliott had 33 saves. Vladimir Tarasenko had his four-game, goal-scoring streak snapped, but he did pick up an assist on Lehteras goal, giving him 12 points in his last seven games.Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said the team got away from the style which produced the seven straight wins.They executed the game they wanted to play and we didnt, Pietrangelo said. Thats what it comes down to.Neal broke a 1-1 tie when he beat Elliot with 6:28 remaining on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle after taking a drop pass from Forsberg.I just came in behind Filip and he made a good pass to drop it, Neal said. It was funny, I told him earlier that I came in behind him and he ripped one. When I came in behind him the second time, he dropped it.Elliott said despite the nice pass, he could have made the save.Thats one I would like to have back, Elliott said.Lehtera put the Blues on the scoreboard first with 5:30 left in the opening period as he followed up Tarasenkos shot and backhanded the rebound past Rinne.Forsberg tied it at 7:20 of the second period when he broke in down the right side and beat Elliott with a wrist shot from the right circle.NOTES: The line of Tarasenko, Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz has combined for 17 points in the last five games. ... Nashville is 9-1-1 when scoring at least two goals and 7-0-1 when it holds the opposition to two goals or fewer. ... Mike Ribeiro had an assist on Neals goal, giving him five assists in his past six games. Under Armour Cheap Online . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. Wholesale Under Armour . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.underarmourcheap.net/ . -- Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings will be on the sideline as the Packers make their push for a perfect regular season. Cheap Under Armour China . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. Under Armour Outlet Store . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions.CHICAGO -- The Portland Trail Blazers had dropped three straight games and appeared in danger of losing considerable playoff ground in the tough Western Conference before LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the lineup on Thursday. Two games later, the Blazers seemed to have turned things following a pair of comfortable wins, the latest a 91-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Is the turnaround as easily explained as the return of an All-Star performer? Well, yeah, the Blazers say. "Other than us getting our best player back, which changes everything, I think our urgency is going up," Damian Lillard said. "After the loss at Orlando (on Tuesday), we realized, All right, its time to turn it around now. We cant wait and we cant have all of these lackadaisical efforts. "Everybodys got on the same page and, during these last two games, weve really defended and done everything together." Mo Williams scored 18 points to lead five Blazers in double figures. Lillard had 16 points, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez each had 13, Wesley Matthews had 11 and Thomas Robinson added 10. The Blazers got past the Bulls easily, despite a quiet night from Aldridge, who was playing just his second game after missing two weeks with a back injury. He had five points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes after having 25 points and 16 rebounds in Atlanta. "His presence on the court puts pressure on everyone," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He does a lot more to help us win than just his field-goal percentage." No one in the Bulls locker room would disagree. "He is a load down there; a great player," Joakim Noah said. "You can tell when he is on the court, whether he scores or not. He changes their team. He is one of the best in the game." Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes to lead Chicago. D.J. Augustin had 15, Taj Gibson 13 and Noah added 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls, who had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win on their own, lost both games of the season series and have dropped 11 of 13 overall against Portland, including five of seven at the United Center. With the New York Knicks loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Bulls still managed to wrap up a playoff spot.dddddddddddd Before Friday, the Bulls had been 10-3 in their last 13 home games, averaging 96.8 points on 44.5 per cent shooting during that span. But it was apparent early that they wouldnt approach either of those marks in this one. "We were flat," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They had something to do with that." Getting off to fast starts was one reason behind the Bulls recent home success, but they were cold at the start, going 8-of-23 (34.8 per cent) from the field in scoring 16 points in the first quarter. Minus Boozers 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting, the rest of the team managed just six points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Blazers had a 47-36 halftime lead and then took charge at the start of the third quarter, beginning the second half with a dunk by Lopez and a 3-pointer by Batum to make it 52-36. In all, Portland stretched the run to 15-2 for a 62-38 lead. The Bulls ended the third quarter on a mini-spurt -- including a three-point play on a dunk and foul by Gibson -- to trim the deficit to 73-58 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls got the ball first in the final quarter and had a couple of inside looks on that initial possession, but came up empty. Lillard then essentially dashed any hopes of a huge rally with a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 76-58. The Bulls failed to score 80 points for the 11th time this season and are 0-11 in those games. "Our defence tonight was just an example of everybody being there for each other," Lopez said. "When you know there is someone behind you, it gives you the confidence to be aggressive." NOTES: Bulls G Derrick Rose, out for the season with a torn right meniscus, suffered the injury in the first game against the Blazers on Nov. 22 and had surgery three days later. ... Thibodeau was asked if he was taking part in the Bulls NCAA pool. "I didnt get a chance to participate," the coach said. "I was looking at that Quicken Loans one. I think I would have won that." That was the contest in which Warren Buffett offered $1 billion to anyone who could fill out a perfect bracket. No one made it through the third day without at least one game wrong. ... Portland entered with a 20-18 road record but was 2-7 in last nine. ' ' '