Nashville 3, San Jose 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees:
Darcy Burchell, Mike Hasenfratz
Linesmen:
Don Henderson, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
15016
By SportsDirect Inc.
Predators 3, Sharks 2: David Legwand had a goal and an assist as Nashville extended San Jose's road woes in the opener of a five-game homestand.
Defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi scored just over four minutes apart in the second period and rookie Marek Mazanec turned aside 26 shots as the Predators snapped a three-game skid (0-2-1).
Captain Shea Weber celebrated his selection to the Canadian Olympic team with a pair of assists to help Nashville beat the Sharks for the fourth straight time at home.
Joe Pavelski scored on the power play and Patrick Marleau added a late goal for San Jose, which fell to 3-8-0 in its last 11 games. Defenseman Jason Demers collected a pair of assists and Antti Niemi made 25 saves in absorbing his second loss to the Predators in 3 1/2 weeks.
Legwand opened the scoring and ended an 11-game goalless drought 3 1/2 minutes into the second period, corralling a loose puck in the right circle before turning and wristing a shot past Niemi. Pavelski knotted it on the power play just over three minutes later, redirecting defenseman Dan Boyle's blast from the right point.
Ekholm answered 27 seconds later with his first career goal, coming from behind the net and throwing a backhand shot that got past a screened Niemi. Josi doubled the lead on a controversial tally with 8:30 left in the period, circling the net before converting from the high slot as Nashville's Colin Wilson crashed into Niemi with a shove from Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
San Jose was outshot 23-17 in the first two periods but picked up the pace and controlled play in the final 20 minutes, putting 11 shots on Mazanec. The pressure finally paid off when - with Niemi on the bench for an extra skater - Marleau scored his 20th goal with 1:22 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Sharks C Logan Couture will undergo surgery on his hand Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks. ... Marleau, who reached 20 goals for the 12th time, and Vlasic were named to Team Canada's roster for the Winter Olympics but Sharks captain Joe Thornton, who leads the league in assists, was left off the squad. Niemi was named to Finland's team while Pavelski was selected for Team USA last week. ... Weber was among 11 players - including Marleau - who were repeat selections from Canada's 2010 gold medal-winning squad while Josi was tabbed to play for Switzerland.
Top Game Performances
| San Jose |
|
Nashville |
|
Jason Demers 2 |
Points |
David Legwand 2 |
|
Patrick Marleau 1 |
Goals |
David Legwand 1 |
|
Jason Demers 2 |
Assists |
Shea Weber 2 |
|
Joe Pavelski 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Antti Niemi .893 |
Save Percentage |
Marek Mazanec .929 |
|
Antti Niemi 25 |
Saves |
Marek Mazanec 26 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| San Jose
|
28 |
2 |
1-4 |
1-1 |
4 |
20 |
| Nashville
|
28 |
3 |
0-1 |
3-4 |
10 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Nashville will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Predators have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .385 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Sharks have a W/L % of .643 after a win and .562 after a loss.
For more information, contact us