Brent Johnson gave the Blues exactly what they needed—a shutout. Johnson stopped all 26 shots he saw as St. Louis topped Nashville 1-0. In his last outing, Johnson allowed three goals off five shots and didn’t even make it out of the first period. It was Johnson’s first shutout since last December. The only breathing room his teammates gave him was a power play goal from Scott Mellanby, who was playing his first game of the season. He was out with broken ribs. The goal came with three seconds to go in the first period and was assisted by Pavol Demitra and Keith Tkachuk. The game also marked the return of defenseman Alexander Khavanov, who was out six games with a broken toe. In eight games this season, Demitra already has ten points in. The win moved St. Louis into first place in the Central Division with 11 points, which is one ahead of the Red Wings, who they face tonight.
