The Sharks wrapped up their 5-game road trip
with a demonstration of why they are a cellar dweller and why their hosts, the
Nashville Predators, extended their standings point streak to 15 games on
Tuesday night. San Jose held a 2-1 lead in the game before the Predators went
on a scoring streak, potting the game's final 7 goals. It was an ugly end to
the trip which netted San Jose 5 regulation losses.
Not that anyone
expected the Sharks to turn into Stanley Cup contenders immediately following
the trade deadline two weeks ago, but the Sharks went from a bad hockey team to
a one that can't compete with anyone in the NHL right now.
Roman Josi
staked the Predators to the 1-0 lead at 11:18 of the contest, when he rifled a
shot from the right point that evaded Sharks goaltender Magnus Chrona. The shot
was partially screened by traffic, which disrupted Chrona sight lines on the
shot.
Mikael Granlund tied the game up with 2:42 remaining in the
period. The Sharks leading scorer collected a diagonal lead pass from Klim
Kostin as he cross the Predators blueline on the right side. Granlund then
carried the puck to the inside of the right circle before snapping a shot past
Juuse Saros for his 10th tally of the season.
Mario Ferraro gave the
Sharks a 2-2 lead 5:46 into the 2nd period. Rookie Thomas Bordeleau controlled
the puck along the right wing boards before dishing it back to the point as he
was about to absorb a hit. Ferraro gathered the pass and skated to the top of
the right circle before putting a shot just inside the left post.
Jason Zucker re-tied the game just under 4 minutes later on a slam dunk chance
after Ryan McDonagh fired a shot that slipped through Chrons's pads. Zucker
reached behind Chrona and swept the puck home as it sat perched in the crease.
Michael McCarron gave the Predators their 2nd lead of the night at
15:26 on a put-back chance from the left side after Kyle Sherwood bounced a
shot off Chrona from the slot.
Luke Evangelista pushed the Nashville
lead to 2 goals when he collected a puck in the slot as he skated from right to
left. The Predators forward lifted a shot with a backhand as he faced the left
wing boards, carrying another puck past Chrona for the 402 lead.
Lucky
for the Sharks the period is contained by a 20 minute clock. If it was 20:01
Nashville would have scored a 4th goal in the period. Luke Schenn's shot was
denied after it deflected off a player out front and crossed the goal line a
second too late.
The Predators bum rushed the net 2 minutes into the
3rd period putting another puck over the goal line, but it was waved off for
goaltender interference.
McCarron added his 2nd of the night at 10:35
of the 3rd period. The Predators forward gathered a loose puck in the slot and
fired a shot from just inside the left circle, beating Chrona to the upper
right corner of the net.
Mark Jankowski scored his 4th of the season
at 14:13 when he tipped a Tyson BArrie shot past Chrona.
Filip
Forsberg scored his 36th goal of the season 30 seconds later. The Predators put
two shots on Chrona from in tight as three Shark defenders stood and watched.
Forsberg pinched down the slot after Gus Nyquist put a shot on Chrona from the
left side and pumped home the rebound.
Tommy Novak capped the scoring
with a shot from the doorstep at 16:16 after he skated across the top of the
crease. Calen Addison made an attempt to check Novak off the puck, but he
essentially bounced off the much bigger forward.
Game Notes: *
Defenseman Jan Rutta returned to the lineup after missing the last 5 games with
an undisclosed injury. Mike Hoffman missed his 5th straight game.
*
Mikael Granlund extended his point scoring streak to 4 games. He has 1 goal and
4 assists during his current streak. Mario Ferraro has points in his last 3
games.
* Granlund was recognized by the Nashville crowd during a short
break in play. Granlund played parts of 5 seasons with Nashville.
*
The Sharks lost 36 of 54 draws for a 33% win percentage. Puck possession was
certainly an contributing factor in the Predators scoring output.
*
The Sharks head home to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. They will get their
first look at Anthony Duclair in a Tampa sweater on Thursday.
