There's no bait to be taken by the Nashville Predators from the Sharks as they picked up their 14th straight win over San Jose, 6-3, on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. 

 Wild Card Standings Update

One of the most criticized aspects of the Predators' season has been their starts, as they've either been outshot or given up the first goal in the majority of their matchups.

That was not the case against the Sharks as the Predators netted five goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, tying a franchise record for most goals scored in the first period.

 The record was originally set in an 8-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 28, 2009.

"I really liked our mindset in the 1st period," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "We got off on the right foot. We've had so many of these conversations in this room about not starting right. We started on time, and we got to our game pretty quickly." 

Filip Forsberg was a massive part of that effort, recording a goal and an assist in that first period. He'd add a primary assist on a Steven Stamkos power play goal in the second period for three points on the night.

Forsberg now has 12 points (5 goals and seven assists) in five games and was named the NHL's 2nd Star of the Week on Monday. With 11 games left, he's eyeing a third straight 70-plus point season, recording 62 so far. 

"Everyone came ready to play," Forsberg said. "Obviously, we're getting rewarded, which is nice. We did a lot of the right things, got on their defensemen and got pucks back. It set the tone for the rest of the time." 

Matthew Wood, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista and Brady Skjei all got involved in the scoring as well in the first frame. Skjei scored just his second goal of the season and first since Dec. 9. 

"I've had some looks and just haven't gone in this year," Skjei said on his scoring. "We're just talking about hopefully, the floodgates will open a little bit here at the end of the season." 

Jonathan Marchessault's production has risen as of late, after inconsistent play throughout the season. 

The 35-year-old forward has 25 points in 51 games, but eight of them have come in just March alone. Against the Sharks, he had three assists and now has seven points in the last five games. 

"I'm playing better hockey and part of a team that's trying to make a push for a playoff spot," Marchessault said. "Everybody has a great mentality and is in a great spot in the lineup. We're playing good hockey right now." 

A lot of credit for Marchessault's production spike goes to a new line centered by Wood and Forsberg, opposite Marchessault on the wing. The trio has generated five goals over the last five games. 

"It makes a big difference," Marchessault said. Fil (Forsberg) is an amazing world-class player, but Woody is the one who facilitates a little bit of everything for Fil and me. He's low and slow in the middle, always available, and we have a lot more possession in the pocket." 

Nashville jumps to 77 points after winning its fourth straight game, now eyeing a first Wild Card spot, within three points of the Utah Mammoth. 

While the Predators are in a very different place than they were at the beginning of the year, Brunette still references last season and how the team's mindset has not changed since then. 

Nearing the playoffs, the Predators are not so much viewing themselves as underdogs as a squad out to prove they are finally living up to the potential promised last season. 

"Our mindset from the end of last year to today has been the same," Brunette said. "You can always get the results, but we were out to prove that last year was a little bit of an apparition, that we're better than what we showed. Full credit to the group when the waters got a little rough there early. We dug in even deeper, and we stayed with it, and we didn't abandon ship."