(My Sportsbook) - Central Division members fresh off Wednesday losses begin a home-and-home series tonight at Nashville's Sommet Center, where the Predators will be trying to distance themselves from the St. Louis Blues in the standings.

These two teams occupy the bottom two spots in the Central, with Nashville two points ahead of the cellar-dwelling Blues for fourth place. Neither is out of the playoff picture in the tightly-bunched Western Conference, however, as the Predators currently trail eighth-seeded Edmonton by just five points and the Blues are only seven back of the Oilers.

Nashville aims to gain some ground when it takes on a St. Louis squad it has dominated at home in recent years. The Blues have lost in 12 of their last 14 visits to the Sommet Center and have been dreadful on the road this season, having posted a 9-15-3 away mark heading into tonight's matchup.

St. Louis has taken three of the four meetings between the clubs this season, however, including a 1-0 shootout decision in Nashville on November 25. The Predators returned the favor with a 4-3 shootout win in the Music City a week ago.

The Blues had put together back-to-back home victories over Chicago and the New York Rangers before being edged in Columbus last night. Alexander Steen had a goal and an assist in St. Louis' 4-3 setback, but former Predator Chris Mason managed to stop only 16-of-20 shots before being removed after two periods.

St. Louis trailed 4-1 after the first 40 minutes but pulled within one on goals from Steen and T.J. Oshie, but failed to come up with the equalizer after pulling goaltender Chris Holt in the final minute.

The Predators weren't as competitive in their game on Wednesday, as Detroit's Johan Franzen and Niklas Lidstrom each had two goals and an assist to lead the Central Division-leading Red Wings to a 6-2 rout of Nashville at Joe Louis Arena.

Steve Sullivan had both goals for the Predators, who came in off a 2-0 home loss to Ottawa on Monday and have now dropped four of their six outings. The oft-injured forward, who missed the entire 2007-08 campaign and has played in just 17 games this season due to chronic back problems, scored in an NHL game for the first time since February 22, 2007.

These divisional foes will also face off in St. Louis on Saturday.