Arvidsson, Forsberg lead Predators by Sharks

NASHVILLE -- Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and Filip Forsberg had three points to help the Nashville Predators to a 6-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Nashville (25-20-8) improved to 14-9-3 at home and ended a two-game losing streak.

James Neal gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 13:12 of the first period on a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Center Ryan Johansen made a backhand pass from behind the net to Neal, who one-timed it past Sharks goaltender Martin Jones for his 19th goal.
"I saw him," Johansen said. "I'm always looking for [Neal] in those areas. That's a big part of the offensive zone is having a guy in those scoring situations and finding those holes on the ice. I looked to that hole, and there he was. Just tried to get it through to him, and he made no mistake."
Calle Jarnkrok gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 6:26 of the second period on a wrist shot from the slot. Johansen had the puck along the boards and fed it to a wide open Jarnkrok, who was able to beat Jones for his ninth goal.

"He just thinks the game so well," Johansen said. "You look at any lines that are successful together, they all are on the same page and they're always in the right spot. A perfect example is [Jarnkrok's] goal. He's reloading in a defensive position, and we create a turnover and then he's in a scoring spot and he finds a way to put it in. I just noticed that early on from playing with him all over the ice and in all three zones, he's always in the right spot and it makes it a lot easier for me in adjusting to a new linemate."
Sharks forward Joe Thornton scored at 15:41 of the second period on the power play to make it 2-1. The puck bounced off of Predators defenseman Shea Weber beside the net, and Thornton was able to knock it into the net past goaltender Pekka Rinne for his 11th goal.
Arvidsson gave the Predators a 3-1 lead at 17:01 of the second period on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle while falling down. He entered the zone and beat Jones under the crossbar for his fourth goal.
"That's just the stuff he's been doing, [I've been] playing against him since we were probably like 14, 15 years old back home in Sweden," Forsberg said. "That's just the stuff that you hated him for doing against you, and now he's doing it here too, so it's awesome. It's just his speed and the skill he's got. He's going to be a really big impact player for this club in the future."
Forsberg gave the Predators a 4-1 lead at 6:51 of the third period with a shorthanded goal. The puck was cleared by Weber, and Forsberg took a wrist shot that beat Jones on the far side for his 15th goal.

"It felt good," Forsberg said. "I felt good chemistry with [Arvidsson] and [Mike Ribeiro]. I think we created a lot of chances, especially in the third period. We kind of pulled away a little bit, and obviously that's big for the confidence of the whole team."
Arvidsson gave the Predators a 5-1 lead at 8:44 of the third period. Forsberg passed to Arvidsson on the rush, who made a forehand-to-backhand move to beat Jones for his second goal of the game and fifth of the season.
"[Forsberg's pass] was great," Arvidsson said. "It landed perfect on my tape. I had a lot of time to what I was going to do so it was awesome."
Sharks forward Logan Couture scored to make it 5-2 at 13:37 of the third period on the power play. Couture one-timed a pass from Thornton past Rinne for his fourth goal.

"During the season, you're going to have some nights like that, and let's not take anything away from them," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "I don't think it was simply breaks. They figured out a way to score some goals. We've got to be harder around the net and stick some more in 5-on-5. We've got to get in the goalie's eyes a little bit more so he doesn't see them."
Weber added an empty net goal at 15:23 of the third period to make it 6-2.
Ribeiro became the 22nd active player to reach 1,000 career NHL games and the 300th player all time. He had two assists.
San Jose (27-20-4) will play at the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday; Nashville will host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.