McCarron, Luff, Duchene Each Tally Twice as Preds Score Eight in San Jose

Michael McCarron, Matt Luff and Matt Duchene each scored twice as the Nashville Predators routed the San Jose Sharks by an 8-0 final on Saturday night at SAP Center. The result ties a Preds franchise record for the largest margin of victory in a single game with a bounce-back win to conclude their two-game trip.
Yakov Trenin and Mikael Granlund also tallied for the Predators and the fourth line of McCarron (2g-2a), Luff (2g-1a) and Philip Tomasino (3a) combined for 10 points on the night. Preds Captain Roman Josi recorded four assists for the second time in his career, while goaltender Juuse Saros stopped all 20 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the campaign.

McCarron got the scoring started when he converted from the right side of the net midway through the opening period, and with 90 seconds to play in the first, Duchene just threw the puck to the cage, and his shot beat Martin Jones for a two-goal lead after 20 minutes of play.
Nashville doubled the score in the second stanza as Josi's shot made it through traffic early in the period to tip off both Tomasino and Luff, and then Luff deposited a rebound in front to give the Preds a 4-0 advantage through two periods of play.
The Preds then added four more in the final frame as Duchene and McCarron each potted their second markers of the night before Trenin and Granlund got in on the act before the evening was complete - just one goal shy of tying a Nashville franchise record for the most in a single game.

Saturday Storyline:

The Predators were less than pleased with their effort on Wednesday night in Seattle.
So, what's the best way to bounce back? Blanking your opponent 8-0 is one way to go about things.
That's exactly what the Preds did Saturday night in the Bay Area as they put up two in the first period, two more in the second and four in the third for one of the most dominant performances on the scoresheet in franchise history.
And while the two points collected in the standings were most important as usual, make no mistake, the Preds - particularly the fourth line - enjoyed this one.
"It was a great bounce back for our team," Luff said. "On our off day we kind of looked in the mirror and just realized [the effort in Seattle] is not a way to make the playoffs, and we want to be a playoff team. I think you look at that 60 minutes tonight and that's a pretty solid game we had."

"It's definitely good to get our team back on the tracks here," McCarron said. "We've kind of been slipping a little bit in some areas and didn't come out and play the way we wanted to in Seattle. And we went back to the drawing board and we were able to draw some stuff up and really figure out our game, and I think the character in the locker room really came out tonight and we came out with a big win… We've got to continue to roll on this and not get too high or low and we'll continue to get better here."
McCarron's four-point outing was almost enough to set a personal career-high in points for a season in one night, let alone a single game, and Tomasino's three points were also a career-best for one evening, as were Luff's three points in a singular contest.
While the trio's combination for 10 points wasn't necessarily expected, the output was certainly welcomed on a night that seemed to mean a little more with the Preds searching for a feel-good win.

"All three of them really played well," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of the line. "Going back to the Seattle game, we felt like we didn't have a lot of guys up front playing the way that we need to play. But those three, they played with energy, they made good puck decisions, they were hard on pucks, they got themselves to the scoring areas and they got rewarded for it. So, it's nice to see a lot of the hard work that those guys put in on a regular basis; for them to play the right way tonight, be a good spark for our team and get rewarded on the scoresheet, it's great for them and great for the team."
But regardless of the score, the Preds did indeed get back to playing the "right way" with the style that makes them successful. At this juncture of the season, there's no better time to do so, either.
"The process of the game was good," Hynes said. "If we can play and check the way that we checked without the puck, for the most part tonight, that was certainly a step in the right direction with our attention to detail and the way that we scored… We have to ice a game here for the rest of the season that gives us the best chance to win regardless of the opponent… Our checking game was really in order tonight."

From here, the Predators will return to Nashville to begin a three-game homestand that will carry vast importance in the standings, especially Tuesday's tilt against the Dallas Stars who now trail the Preds by just one point.
For the Predators, the hope is a game like the one they put forth on Saturday will only assist in those efforts to be at their best on a more consistent basis. At the very least, an eight-goal outing is a darn good start.
"At the end of the day we're such a tight group," Luff said. "I don't think you could go into any other locker room and think there's a tighter group than us. So, it's good for us to get that win, and we've just got to keep it going from here and just keep remembering this feeling."
"We have a big homestand coming up, so it's going to be a good test for our group because those are huge points," Tomasino said. "Dallas is probably going to be the biggest game of the year so far because we're neck-and-neck with them in the standings. So, I think tonight was a really good game for our group, but I think tomorrow we'll sleep it off and get back to video and watching clips, trying to improve every day. We'll be ready for Tuesday against Dallas."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Philip Tomasino on playing with Michael McCarron and Matt Luff:
"I thought we obviously had a pretty good game. I mean, [McCarron] over here was going pretty well, so it was nice for him to get a couple goals there. I thought we were hard on pucks, we created a lot of turnovers on our forecheck and really capitalized on our chances. So, overall it was a pretty good game for everyone, but I think our line especially took it to that next step tonight as well."

Notes:

The Predators scored at least eight goals in a game for the eighth time in franchise history and first since Dec. 17, 2019.
Saturday marked the third game in Predators history to feature four players with at least three points each. The others: March 18, 2006 (Mike Sillinger: 4a, Paul Kariya: 2g-1a, Martin Erat: 1g-2a & David Legwand: 3a) and Dec. 23 2006 (J-P Dumont: 2g-2a, David Legwand: 2g-1a, Steve Sullivan: 3a & Alexander Radulov: 3a).
Roman Josi (4a) recorded his second career outing with four-plus assists and first in more than four years (5a on Feb. 27, 2018 at WPG). Only two other Predators defensemen have recorded at least four assists in a game: Dan Hamhuis (1g-4a on March 4, 2004 at PIT) and Marek Zidlicky (5a on Feb. 18, 2004 vs SJS).
Defenseman Alexandre Carrier returned to the lineup after missing two games due to injury, but blueliner Mark Borowiecki was absent once more on Saturday and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
With their two-game trip now complete, the Predators will return to Bridgestone Arena for a three-game homestand beginning on Tuesday night with a massive contest against the Dallas Stars. Nashville will then host Anaheim on Thursday and St. Louis next Saturday as they look to gain all-important points in the standings.