After prevailing over the Kings in a shootout on Thursday in what was then the biggest game of the season, the Nashville Predators have now shifted that title to tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks with a 9 p.m. CT puck drop from SAP Center. This evening’s contest is the second of three meetings between the Preds and Sharks near the end of the season; Nashville beat San Jose last week by a 6-3 count.
With Thursday’s result in Los Angeles, coupled with a San Jose win over Toronto on Thursday, the Preds, Kings and Sharks all own 79 points in the midst of the Wild Card race in the Western Conference. A win tonight would see the Predators leapfrog the Sharks, and with just seven games to go in Nashville’s schedule, every point is crucial to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“We're facing a bunch [of big games] this trip - all teams that we're battling against, competing against for this playoff spot,” Preds winger Luke Evangelista said following Thursday’s win. “To get started with the win there, that's huge for us. But we’ve got to keep building these. These are huge games for us, so the job is not done yet.”
“I think we've been through a lot as a group, and we're just happy to be here, and we're enjoying the moment,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Thursday night. “We're growing as a team. I think this team is an extremely tight group, I think because of everything they went through, and we're just enjoying the moment. We’re enjoying playing meaningful games this time of year. We're just going to keep pushing. Nobody expected us to be here, and we'll just keep being us here down the stretch.”
The Predators kept the same collection of players in the lineup on Thursday with Ryan Ufko and Ozzy Wiesblatt serving as healthy scratches. Nashville held a limited practice on Friday afternoon in San Jose.
The Good Guys:
Filip Forsberg, Zach L’Heureux, Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos all tallied in regulation against the Kings - and then Juuse Saros stopped all eight skaters in the shootout before Evangelista scored to give the Preds a crucial extra point.
Forsberg has 35 goals and leads the Preds with 68 points, followed by Ryan O’Reilly with 43 assists and 67 points. Stamkos has 37 goals and 59 points on the season, while Evangelista has 40 assists and 50 points. Saros is now 27-20-7 in net; Justus Annunen is 8-11-2.
The Opposition:
Since falling to the Predators last week, the Sharks have now won four straight, including a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Thursday. Macklin Celebrini has 40 goals and 105 points in just his second NHL season to lead the Sharks. Will Smith has 22 goals and 54 points on the season, while Alexander Wennberg has 34 helpers and 51 points. Former Preds goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is 21-17-3 in net; Alex Nedeljkovic is 15-13-4.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 50-29-(2)-8 all-time against the Sharks, including a 20-17-(1)-6 mark on the road.
The Predators defeated the Sharks 6-3, on March 24 at Bridgestone Arena, behind three-point efforts from Filip Forsberg (1g-2a) and Jonathan Marchessault (3a). Nashville scored five goals in a single period for just the 10th time in franchise history and five in the first period for only the second time (Feb. 28, 2009 vs. Detroit).
Nashville owns a 17-game point streak (16-0-1) against San Jose that dates back to March 16, 2019, in which the team has allowed more than two goals against only three times. It is the longest active point streak by an NHL team against a single franchise. The Predators’ win streak of 14 games against the Sharks is the longest active against a single team in the NHL and tied for their longest run against a single team in franchise history (14 GP from Oct. 15, 2005-Jan. 27, 2007 vs. St. Louis).
Nashville Notables:
Filip Forsberg scored his 35th goal of the season in Thursday’s win, the third time in his career he has hit that mark. Forsberg extended his road goal streak to four games, tied for the fourth-longest run in Predators history. The three longest road goal streaks in franchise history are by Forsberg (6 GP in 2014-15 and 5 GP in 2019-20) and Gabriel Bourque (5 GP in 2012-13)
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 8:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
