Nashville 3, Columbus 0

Martin Erat recorded a goal and an assist and Pekka Rinne made 38 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the visiting Nashville Predators defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Thursday.

Rinne, who was rested Tuesday against the New York Rangers after playing 10 straight games, made 13 saves in the first period and 18 in the third for his 24th career shutout. It was the first time Columbus has been blanked this season.

Erat converted a pass from Sergei Kostitsyn on a 2-on-1 break after a Columbus turnover at 11:08 of the second period. Mike Fisher deflected home an Erat pass 2:03 later on the power play to make it 2-0. It was Erat’s fourth multi-point effort in his last seven games.

Shea Weber added an empty-net goal with 31.8 seconds left in the game for Nashville, which has won four of the five games against Columbus this season. The teams meet for the final time on Monday in Nashville.

Steve Mason, starting only his second game of the month in goal for the Blue Jackets, turned aside all seven shots in the opening 20 minutes before Nashville potted two on 10 shots in the second.

Columbus is now 2-3 under interim coach Todd Richards.

• Columbus will play their next game on the road against Columbus . The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .071 after a win and .375 after a loss.
• Nashville will play their next game at home against Chicago . The Predators have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .600 after a loss.