Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund both score two goals and Matt Duchene recorded three assists in Nashville's 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
The Nashville Predators traveled to the West coast to take on the San Jose Sharks tonight at SAP Center. The Predators were without two of their star forwards as Filip Forsberg remains out with an upper body injury and Ryan Johansen's injury on Tuesday night will likely end his season. Johansen underwent surgery Wednesday and is expected to miss approximately twelve weeks. Nashville is also missing defenseman Alexandre Carrier who is also out with an upper body injury.
Today the Predators recalled Kiefer Sherwood from the Milwaukee Admirals to jump into the lineup. Nashville roster tonight contained a handful of players who have been successful in Milwaukee this season - Sherwood, Phil Tomasino, Tommy Novak, Jusso Pärssinen, and Kevin Gravel.
The San Jose Sharks also made adjustments to their lineup. Timo Meier, the team's top trade piece, was out due to a lingering upper body injury. James Reimer got the start in net tonight coming off of his shutout over the Seattle Kraken with the help of a solid defense starring Norris Trophy frontrunner Erik Karlsson.
Game Recap
The Nashville Predators came out with a physical game working hard to win the early puck battles around the boards. Their first opportunity on the power play came at 5:57 on a tripping call. The Sharks have one of the best penalty kills in the league, but Nino Niederreiter's shot deflected past Reimer at 6:24 to give Nashville the early lead on the man advantage.
Matt Duchene broke up San Jose's best early chance on a tic, tac, toe play. Cody Glass headed to the penalty box for an interference call at 8:45 giving the Sharks their first chance on the man advantage. The Preds penalty kill managed the two minutes without allowing a shot on net, and the teams returned to five a side.
Despite not scoring, the power play gave the Sharks their first burst of momentum as the teams returned to five on five. Nashville nearly scored again as the period wound down, but Reimer's stick stopped the puck mere inches from the goal line. The teams headed into the locker room after twenty minutes with the Preds up 1-0.
Phil Tomasino pickpocketed the puck in the neutral zone and Mikael Granlund sent it past Reimer at 1:28 in the second period. At 5:54 Juuso Pärssinen took a hit from behind by Nico Sturm and eventually headed to the locker room for further evaluation. The hit was ruled legal, and the Preds played down another forward
The Predators earned their second power play at 8:05, but it was Nico Sturm who scored shorthanded after Roman Josi mishandled a pass back to the line. Nashville wasn't able to convert on the remainder of the power play and the Sharks returned to full strength.
The line of Glass, Tomasino, and Granlund struck again with a well executed rush chance finished by Granlund at 13:34 for his second goal of the game and Nashville's third. At 18:05 Kevin Gravel headed to the penalty box for interference, and the Sharks power play went to work. This time Nashville answered with a shorthanded goal of their own as Cole Smith pressured the puck and passed to Yakov Trenin who tapped it past Reimer. The period expired with :05 remaining in the Sharks' power play and the score 4-1.
The Preds killed off the rest of the penalty as the third period began, but Tommy Novak turned the puck over and Martin Kaut scored just :50 seconds into the final period.
The Sharks got another opportunity as Tanner Jeannot was called for boarding at 4:02, and San Jose played up a man. The Predators were able to kill off the penalty, but Mattias Ekholm cycled into the sin bin at 8:17 for a trip. Mikael Granlund got a breakaway chance but couldn't put the puck away shorthanded. The penalty expired and a quick rush opportunity gave Nino Niederreiter his second goal of the game at 10:48 and restored Nashville's three goal lead.
The Predators got their chance on the power play at 13:13 compliments of a roughing call. Matt Duchene connected with Tommy Novak on a perfectly timed pass to score at 14:00 and make it a 6-2 game.
With under 3:00 remaining Nino Niederreiter and former Predator Matt Benning both headed to their respective boxes, and the teams played four on four. After those two minutes expired, McDonagh headed to the box with less than a minute remaining. San Jose's power play pressured, but time ran out and the Predators skated away with a 6-2 win.
Game Notes
1. Mikael Granlund capitalized on the benefits of the Glass, Tomasino, Granlund line. This has not been Granny's best season, but tonight he looked more confident shooting and the trio played with speed and skill. This could be a line that works down the stretch for Nashville...if they make it past the trade deadline.
2. Nino Niederreiter loves to score against the Sharks. Nino scored three against San Jose in the Global Series and buried two tonight as well. He also has four goals in his last three games. Now would be a perfect time for Niederreiter to stay hot.
3. Juuso Pärssinen did not return to the game after falling awkwardly in the second period. With Johansen and Forsberg out and Nashville chasing points, losing Pärssinen to injury would not be ideal for the Predators.