Nashville Predators Hold Off San Jose Sharks, 3-2, for Fourth Straight Win

Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos each recorded a goal on the man advantage as special teams helped to lift the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks Tuesday at SAP Center.

The Predators extended their win streak to four and completed the season sweep of the Sharks. Juuse Saros made 24 saves in his 16th win of the season, while Alexandar Georgiev made 16 saves in the loss.

How the Predators Lined Up vs. San Jose

Stamkos-O'Reilly-Evangelista
Forsberg-Sissons-Marchessault
Smith-Svechkov-Vrana
McCarron-Bellows

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Stastney
Englund-Barron
Oesterle

Saros
Annunen

IR: L'Heureux, Josi, Lauzon, Wilsby, Bunting

Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators

Predators at Sharks: Pregame Notes

Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (19 goals, 28 assists) can record his seventh career 20-goal season and join New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin (9x) as the only other active undrafted player to reach the mark.
Predators forward Steven Stamkos was named the NHL's Second Star for the week ending March 9 after racking up eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) over his last three games.

Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos was named the NHL's Second Star for the week ending March 9.

thehockeynews.comNashville Predators' Steven Stamkos Named NHL's Second Star of the WeekNashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos was named the NHL's Second Star for the week ending March 9.

Predators at Sharks: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, SJS 0)

Some early defensive zone turnovers by the Predators forced Saros to be sharp early, turning aside three shots before Nashville even registered one.

There were some fireworks early as Andreas Englund dropped the gloves with Barclay Goodrow at the 8:30 mark, resulting in a takedown of the Sharks forward at center ice and matching five-minute major penalties for each fighter.

Cole Smith and Vincent Desharnais accounted for the second tilt of the period less than two minutes later. Desharnais was assessed an additional minor penalty for roughing, but the Predators were unable to capitalize on the power play.

By the end of the period, the Predators held a 7-5 shot advantage over the Sharks.

Second Period (NSH 2, SJS 0)

The Predators got on the board first less than halfway through the second period with a beauty of a goal from Filip Forsberg on the power play. While Mario Ferraro sat for tripping, Forsberg left alone in the corner and roofed a shot from the face-off circle that gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at the 8:11 mark.

The Predators earned another opportunity on the man advantage later in the period when Goodrow tripped Ryan O'Reilly at 14:05. Steven Stamkos retrieved the loose puck and sent it up to Brady Skjei, who in turn set up Stamkos for the shot that trickled through for Nashville's second power-play goal of the period to make it 2-0.

Nashville was outshot by San Jose, 14-10, in the second period. The Predators appeared at times to struggle to keep up with the fast pace of play set by the Sharks, but when Nashville's skaters lacked speed and precision, Saros came through with some big saves – including a pair of back-to-back stops on Tyler Toffoli in the second period – to keep them in the game.

Third Period (NSH 3, SJS 2)

After dominating the pace of play for most of the first 40 minutes, the Sharks finally got on the board at the 16:18 mark of the third period. Patrick Giles, left alone in front of the net, tapped home a pass from Goodrow to cut Nashville's lead to 1-0.

It then took San Jose just 14 seconds to tie the game, when a turnover by Spencer Stastney resulted in another defensive breakdown for Nashville and allowed Colin Graf to beat Saros to tie the game at 2-2.

The tie didn't last long, though, as Kieffer Bellows found the back of the net at the 6:32 mark for his first goal as a member of the Predators to give Nashville back a one-goal lead.

The Sharks continued to put pressure on the Predators, holding Nashville to just two shots on goal in the third period. However, Nashville managed to weather the storm and keep San Jose off the board for the remainder of the frame for the 3-2 final.

Predators at Sharks: Key Takeaways & Postgame Notes

Stamkos' power-play goal in the second period was his fifth goal and ninth point in his last four games. It was also the 577th goal of his career, tying Mark Recchi for 22nd place on the NHL’s all-time list.
Forsberg's power-play tally in the second period was his team-leading 25th goal of the season. He's reached the 25-goal threshold eight times in his in his 13 NHL seasons.

Up Next

The Predators continue their three-game road trip with a visit to the Anaheim Ducks Friday at 9 p.m. CT.