Sharks continue long trip at Nashville

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LAST 10: San Jose 3-6-1, Nashville 4-3-3

Season Series: This is the third of four meetings between the Sharks and Predators this season. They've split the first two, with San Jose winning 3-1 on Oct. 25 and Nashville coming out ahead 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 5. David Legwand notched two goals, including the overtime winner, to fuel the Predators' victory.

Big Story: Tight games are the rule rather than exception these teams face off against each other. In fact, 13 of the last 16 games - dating to Feb. 9, 2008 - have been decided by one goal. Five of those 14 have needed extra time, including the three of the last four.

Team Scope:

Sharks: The Sharks are reaching the end of a season-long nine-game road trip; they are 2-4-1 entering weekend games at Nashville and Minnesota. The Sharks' 2-1 win at Toronto on Thursday was just enough to keep them in ahead of Phoenix for the Pacific Division lead -- both teams have 71 points but the Sharks have two games in hand. Thursday's victory snapped a four-game skid for San Jose.

"I'm quite proud and pleased of the way the guys responded," coach Todd McLellan said. "We had a hell of a game on our hands. (Toronto is) a very fast team, but we did some of the things we wanted to."

Patrick Marleau scored both goals on Thursday, giving him 25 for the season -- the ninth time in his 14 NHL seasons he's reached that mark.

Predators: The Predators are two-games into a five-game homestand. They opened with a 3-1 win against Vancouver, but lost 3-2 in a shootout to St. Louis on Thursday. Roman Josi and Colin Wilson each tallied in regulation and Pekka Rinne stopped 22 shots in 65 minutes but was beaten twice in the tiebreaker.

"Rinne is one of the hardest-working goalies in the League," said St. Louis' T.J. Oshie, who scored in the shootout. "I had watched some video of him. You have to stay with him. It took us all the way to a shootout to beat him. They are a tough team and we've had a tough time in this building."

The Predators have not allowed a power-play goal for five straight games and are tied with the Canucks for the best power play percentage in the league with 21.6 percent.

Who's Hot: Nashville's Mike Fisher has five points in as many games including a three-point performance on Feb. 21.

Injury Report: San Jose center Dominic Moore is out with a lower-body injury, defenseman Douglas Murray has missed the last four games after taking a puck to the throat against Tampa Bay and suffering a broken Adam's apple. Martin Havlat is on injured reserve recovering from hamstring surgery. …The Predators are missing forward Brian McGrattan due to an upper-body injury, but they expect to get Patrik Hornqvist back after he missed five games with the same problem.

Stat Pack: San Jose has three players who have accumulated four points in the two meetings with Nashville this season, Joe Pavelski (3-1-4), Logan Couture (2-2-4) and Joe Thornton (0-4-4). .. For Nashville, Shea Weber has seven points in Nashville's last six games against San Jose and Legwand has five points in his last five games against the Sharks.

Puck Drop: The Predators have a decided home ice advantage as they have won 15 of their last 19 home games (15-2-2) and are 8-0-2 in their last 10 at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators are the only team in the League to post at least 23 home victories in six consecutive seasons.