NASHVILLE, Tenn. - As he looked up to the rafters of Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, Nashville Predators left winger Filip Forsberg marveled at the collection of hats and ski caps making their way to the ice after his second natural hat trick in three games.

"It's cool when you realize it's because of something you did," a smiling Forsberg said.

The owner of 12 goals in 11 games, Forsberg led streaking Nashville to a 5-0 rout of the St. Louis Blues, for its ninth straight game with a point and one which included a feat not accomplished in the NHL over the last 29 seasons.

Forsberg, whose natural hat trick fueled the Predators' 3-2 decision in Toronto Tuesday night, became the first player since Vancouver's Petri Skriko to pull off the feat in three or fewer games. Skriko actually bagged natural hat tricks in consecutive games on Nov. 18 and 21, 1986 against Calgary and the New York Rangers.

Forsberg started his latest explosion 54 seconds into the second period with a rebound marker, pouncing on a shot by defenseman Petter Granberg and beating goalie Jake Allen at the left goalpost for his 24th marker for a 2-0 lead.

Less than five minutes later, Forsberg took a drop pass by right winger Craig Smith and zipped a wrister over Allen's right shoulder to make it 3-0.

Forsberg wrapped up the hat trick at 14:49 with St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk serving a minor for tripping. Center Mike Ribeiro teed Forsberg up for a one-timer at the left faceoff circle, inspiring a shower of headwear that briefly delayed the game.

This explosion occurred at the hands of a Blues team which beat Nashville four straight times prior to Saturday, yielding just four goals total.

"We knew they were a top team in our division and we had lost all the games to them," Forsberg said. "So it was good to come out here the way we did. I'm just trying to go out there and put it between the red pipes."

Forsberg's linemates more than shared in the fun. Smith started the scoring at 5:39 of the first period with a rebound tally, his 14th, and added two assists. Ribeiro bagged three assists, giving him 12 in the last 13 games.

Not to be left out, Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stopped all 28 shots to become the fifth active goalie with 40 career shutouts. It was Rinne's fourth clean sheet of the season and continued a stretch which has seen him yield just four goals in 155 shots over the last five games.

"I'm trying not to think too much and put too much pressure on myself," Rinne said.

It all added up to the finish of a 4-0-0 week for Nashville (31-21-11), which is 6-0-3 in its last nine games and has crawled within six points of St. Louis (35-20-9) for third place in the Central Division.

"It was really our fourth game in 5 1/2 days with the 2 o'clock start, but we got off to a good start," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "Guys are coming over the boards with confidence and that can mean a lot in this game."

As for the Blues, it was their third straight loss, one that coach Ken Hitchcock attributed to two factors within their control.

"Puck management and penalties," Hitchcock said during a 49-second postgame scrum. "Lack of discipline on the penalties hurt us. Our guys are dead from killing penalties and we don't have energy to attack when we get a fresh 5-on-5."

Allen finished with 19 saves on 23 shots before being hooked shortly after Forsberg completed his hat trick. Backup Pheonix Copley made his NHL debut, getting nicked for a tally by left winger Colin Wilson at 4:37 of the third period to cap the scoring.

NOTES: St. Louis and Edmonton consummated a swap of goalies Saturday morning, the Blues acquiring Anders Nilsson in exchange for Niklas Lundstrom and a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft. St. Louis sent Nilsson to its AHL affiliate in Chicago. ... Nashville D Shea Weber (lower-body injury) missed his third straight game. ... The Blues scratched C Jori Lehtera, hit in the face by a puck Thursday night, and D Alex Pietrangelo (right knee). ... Predators' defensemen entered Saturday with an NHL-high 151 points.