Preds Set Franchise Point Record in Win Over Sharks

No Nashville Predators team has ever recorded 111 points. Until now.
Juuse Saros made 39 saves and the Preds defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5-3, on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The victory gives the Preds 50 wins and 111 points on the season, their highest point total for a single campaign in franchise history.
In addition, Thursday's marked Nashville's 100th consecutive sellout, a streak that began almost two calendar years ago and has seen the Predators post a 66-21-13 record at home during that span.
It was Saros who helped to send the fans home happy, facing a number of barrages on the way to his ninth win of the season. And although the Sharks got three by him, his impact on the contest was clear.

"Oh my goodness, he was phenomenal," Preds center Ryan Johansen said of his goaltender. "It was pretty impressive being his teammate and watching him tonight. He's definitely the reason that we ended up winning that game so he deserves if not all, most of the credit tonight."
"Especially in the third period, when San Jose got the power plays and pulled the goalie and the penalty shot - there was just a lot that was thrown at Juice in that last 20 minutes and he was spectacular," Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. "We'll go back and look at it tomorrow, but there will be 12 times where we hit rewind and rewind and we'll watch it over and over and just say, 'Wow.' He really did put on an unbelievable performance, especially in the third period."
Both clubs tallied a pair of goals in the game's opening period with Kyle Turris striking first for Nashville on his 15th of the season. Logan Couture evened the score minutes later, and after Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson converted on a 2-on-0 in tight for Arvidsson's team leading 29th, Brenden Dillon tied the game once more before the period was out.

Craig Smith gave Nashville a 3-2 lead midway through the second stanza, and after Mikkel Boedker tied it once more early in the third, Ryan Ellis put the Preds ahead for good at 10:06 of the final frame. Nick Bonino sealed it with an empty-netter.

Facing one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Preds snapped San Jose's nine-game point streak and extended a 10-game point streak (9-0-1) of their own when hosting the Sharks at Bridgestone Arena, another win against the Californian foes in front of a sellout crowd.
"We could've been better, but you have to find ways to win hockey games in this League and we found a way to do it against a team that's been playing really well," Johansen said. "We're definitely happy with the win and like usual, we'll look at some stuff and try to improve on some errors but we'll take the win and move forward."

Simply the Best:
Another night, another rewrite of the record book.
As they've done all season, the Predators set another franchise mark on Thursday when they posted points 110 and 111 on the campaign, the most any Preds club has ever recorded. Entering the evening, the Predators also had 109 points through 76 games, the best pace in club history.
Nashville hit the 50-win mark as well, now just two victories away from setting yet another record.
The Predators have made it clear over the past few months the franchise marks aren't necessarily top of mind, but they're not ignored either, and the amount of pride this group feels to now go down as the best regular-season squad in club history is embraced, another notch on the journey that just keeps getting better.
"It's a credit to everyone, not just the players in here," Johansen said. "It's a big achievement. We should be proud. We've put in a lot of hard work, and it's not an easy thing to do."
"It means a lot," Laviolette said. "The guys have fought hard to get to this point, and they have been a very focused group. This is just part of where we are trying to get to. I think that they understand that the more we win, the better chance we have at securing home ice. Just playing in front of our fans and in our building is something that we have talked about. We want to get that done, so, that was something that could be done tonight and the guys played hard for it."

Notes:
Prior to Thursday's game, the Predators signed forward Eeli Tolvanen to a three-year, entry-level contract. Although he didn't dress on Thursday, Tolvanen is expected to see some game action before the regular season is out.
Nashville's home stand concludes on Saturday night when Phil Housley and the Buffalo Sabres come to town, and then the Preds will head to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning on Easter Sunday to begin their final road trip of the season.