NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Pekka Rinne made 32 saves as he returned to his dominating form, Mike Fisher scored his first goal of these playoffs, and the Nashville Predators found their rhythm with a 2-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal series.

After giving up nine goals on the road as the Predators fell behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven matchup, Rinne was rarely challenged by the lackluster Coyotes. He helped the Predators overcome the team suspensions of forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn.

Phoenix still leads 2-1 in the series that will continue with Game 4 in Nashville on Friday.

David Legwand and Fisher capitalized on mistakes and scored 1:16 apart midway through the first period. Rinne, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy given to the NHL’s top goalie, made the goals stand up.

BLUES-KINGS: David Backes is happy St. Louis is out of its home and comfort zone. The captain figures it might be the best way to save the team’s season.

St. Louis dropped the first two home games of its second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, giving up eight goals to the lowest-scoring team that made the NHL playoffs.

After St. Louis’ stellar regular season and an impressive first-round win over San Jose, Backes feels the Blues’ focus is slipping in the Western Conference semifinal series. He is hoping the road will redirect their energy, and they will get back in the series in Game 3 tonight.

The Kings are trying to preserve the momentum they gained with their fifth road win already in the playoffs.

NOTES

The Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin as general manager. Bergevin served as assistant GM for the Chicago Blackhawks under Stan Bowman this season. Phoenix Coyotes prospect Brendan Shinnimin was named the Western Hockey League’s Player of the Year. Shinnimin had 58 goals and 76 assists in 69 games with the Tri-City Americans to lead the WHL in scoring. The Calgary Flames signed Czech center Roman Cervenka to a $3.775 million, one-year contract. The 26-year-old from Prague spent the last two seasons with Avangard Omsk of the KHL of Russia, and had 54 goals and 46 assists in 105 games. Cervenka led Omsk in scoring during the 2010-11 season with 31 goals and 30 assists in 51 games playing alongside countryman Jaromir Jagr. The 5-foot-11, 201-pound forward also played in the KHL all-star game that season.