Sharks come back to defeat Predators in shootout

NASHVILLE - Logan Couture's goal in the first round of the shootout gave the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
San Jose trailed 2-0 heading into the third period and forward Tomas Hertl scored twice to force overtime.

Hertl made it 2-1 at 2:19 on a rebound from the slot. Forward Joe Pavelski took the original shot that was blocked in front, and Hertl was able to collect the rebound and shoot it past Predators goaltender Carter Hutton for his 20th goal.
"I was for sure happy," Hertl said. "It was a big goal for us because it keeps [momentum] moving after we [got] many chances. It was a great play by [Sharks forward Joe Thornton] and [Pavelski], and I just finished it."

Hertl tied the game at 2-2 at 10:31 on a redirection. Defenseman Brent Burns took the original shot from the point, and Hertl was able to redirect it past Hutton for his second goal of the game and his 21st of the season.
"I thought we were working pretty well for the whole game," said Sharks goaltender James Reimer, who made 28 saves. "Maybe we just weren't getting inside the first 40 [minutes], and in the third we came out and definitely out-played them more in the third. It's good to see. Obviously sometimes things aren't going to go your way in the [Stanley Cup Playoffs].
"I'm sure they've been doing it all year, but to have the confidence that you can come back from being down two goals in the last 20 [minutes], it's nice to see."
Hutton made 38 saves for the Predators (39-26-14), who are 4-2 in shootouts this season.

"[Hutton] was really good," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "He had a lot of work, a lot of pucks at him. Way too much time in our end. There was a lot of pucks, a lot of redirects, a lot of things that were tough for him to save. I thought he was sharp tonight and really earned us a point."
The Sharks (44-29-6) improved to 4-3 in shootouts, and moved two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for second place in the Pacific Division. Anaheim has two games in hand.
"It was a big win," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We've been good on the road all year. I think we're taking some pride in wanting to finish with the best road record in the League. It was a gritty effort. Early they had a couple of seeing-eye goals. It would have been easy to kind of chalk it up to one of those nights, and we didn't. We hung in there, and the third period was our best."
Shea Weber gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 8:07 of the first period on a one-timer from the point. Center Mike Ribeiro led the rush and passed the puck back to Weber, who shot it past Reimer for his 19th goal.

Calle Jarnkrok gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 1:38 of the second period on a redirection. Forward James Neal took the original shot from the slot, and Jarnkrok was able to change the direction of the puck and angle it past Reimer for his 15th goal.
"We've got to play better than we did tonight," Laviolette said. "We weren't ready to work. We got outworked from the start to the finish, and the results, I think, reflected that."
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
San Jose will play at the Minnesota Wild and Nashville will host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.