GAME: San Jose Sharks (24-13-11-4) at Nashville Predators (25-18-6-2).
TIME: Saturday, 8 p.m. EST.
The Nashville Predators will be without defenseman Jamie Allison when they host the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
Allison got a 10-minute misconduct penalty during the Predators' 6-4 win at Columbus on Thursday, but his transgressions didn't end on the ice. The 10-year veteran got into a heated exchange with a pair of fans and proceeded to throw his stick down the tunnel leading to the Nashville dressing room before engaging in another argument with a police officer.
The NHL suspended Allison for one game without pay, and the Predators were also hit with a $10,000 fine.
Nasvhille coach Barry Trotz said a fan took Allison's glove as he was going down the tunnel. Both fans were later escorted out of the arena by police.
Perhaps lost in the off-ice distractions was the Predators' fifth win in the last seven games. Also, Scott Walker tied Cliff Ronning's franchise record for goals with his 81st, and team-leading 15th of the season.
"It was a hard-fought battle," said Trotz. "It was an exciting game all-around and nice to see guys stepping up and protecting each other."
Nashville is 7-2-2 in its last 11 games, and boasts an 8-0-2 mark in its last 10 home games.
The Sharks had their lead in the Pacific shaved to four points over second-place Dallas with Friday's 2-1 loss to the Stars. Vesa Toskala stopped 33 shots for San Jose, but could not get in front of Jere Lehtinen's game-winner with 2:49 to play.
Despite the loss, the Sharks boast a 14-4-1-1 mark in their last 20 games.