NASHVILLE, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Brent Johnson made 35 saves in his season debut and Scott Mellanby scored the tying goal 7:03 into the third period Thursday night as the St. Louis Blues rallied for a 2-2 tie with the Nashville Predators.
After missing St. Louis' first 28 games with a high ankle sprain, Johnson played for the first time since Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit and faced a barrage of shots in each period.
Johnson allowed a pair of power-play goals to Scott Walker, but the Blues were able to capitalize on Nashville mistakes for both goals.
Mellanby scored his 10th after Cory Stillman backhanded a cross-ice pass to him. Unchecked in the left faceoff circle, he lifted a one-timer over Tomas Vokoun.
After Mike Dunham was traded to the New York Rangers, Vokoun made 22 saves in his first day as the No. 1 goaltender. But he was out of the net after trying to clear Andreas Johansson's giveaway, which allowed Martin Rucinsky to hit a vacant net.
Both goalies made key stops in overtime. Johnson made a glove save on defenseman Kimmo Timonen's one-timer shortly after Vokoun robbed Eric Boguniecki.
