Predators 6, Sharks 2
Associated Press
VIDEO
NEWS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The San Jose Sharks' long and disappointing road trip got worse, thanks in large part to the work of Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber.

Shea Weber scored two goals, and the Predators routed the Sharks 6-2 on Saturday night.

Colin Wilson, Kevin Klein, Martin Erat and Nick Spaling also scored for Nashville, which has won three of four. The Predators have 16 wins in their last 20 home games.

Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for Nashville and earned his career-high 34th win.

Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski scored for San Jose, 2-5-1 on its season-high, nine-game road trip that ends at Minnesota on Sunday.

Thomas Greiss made 11 saves for the Sharks after replacing Antti Niemi, who stopped four of the seven shots he faced.

Wilson gave the Predators a 1-0 lead just 2:03 into the game. Jordin Tootoo forced a turnover by defenseman Colin White at the blue line and carried the puck down the ice on the right side. Tootoo sent a pass into the slot to Wilson, who beat Niemi low to the stick side.

Weber doubled the lead 1:20 later.

Sergei Kostitsyn led the Predators into the San Jose zone on a 3-on-2 rush. From the left boards, Kostitsyn passed the puck to Erat in the left circle. Erat found Weber on the right side, and Weber snapped a wrist shot just under the crossbar.

"We came out skating well," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "Both the goals were sort of transition goals. We defended well in our end and then we were able to make one quick outlet pass, and away we went. We caught them a little bit on a couple of plays where they were outmanned a little bit."

San Jose coach Todd McLellan called his timeout to try to halt Nashville's momentum.

"Two shots, two goals, two mistakes. Game over," McLellan said. "Pretty simple. We just had a meeting and addressed those two situations in particular, and it came back to bite us."

Marleau brought the Sharks within 2-1 with 9:02 to go in the first, but Klein restored the Predators; two-goal edge five minutes later. Niemi was then replaced by Greiss.

Pavelski scored 23 seconds into the second period to again bring the Sharks within a goal.

"Even though they got that second goal in the first minute of the second period, first shift, those are always the ones you want to keep them out," Rinne said. "It was a good battle from us, and third period they played well and had some chances, but we battled hard and played well defensively."

Joe Thornton had two assists for San Jose, and Marleau and Pavelski both had an assist in addition to their goals. As the Pacific Division leaders, the Sharks entered Saturday in the third spot in the Western Conference, but their loss combined with a win by the Phoenix Coyotes put the Sharks back into seventh place.

"It wasn't a good effort," Thornton said. "We actually made it a game, scoring early in the second period to make it 3-2, but we have to find a way to come together. We're in the seven spot now, and it's unacceptable."

With the Predators on a power play, Weber scored his second of the game with 7:56 to go in the second on a one-timer from just inside the blue line.

"I just tried to stay down on it," Weber said of the rolling puck. "(David Legwand) just kind of one-touched it, and it was rolling. Those are sometimes the hardest ones to shoot."

It was Weber's second two-goal game this season and eighth of his career.

Nashville has scored 44 power-play goals this season, three more than all of last season.

Erat's empty-net goal with 2 minutes remaining, and Spaling's goal in the final seconds of the third concluded the scoring for Nashville.

NOTES: Klein's four goals this season tied a career high. . Nashville RW Patric Hornqvist returned after missing five games because of an undisclosed upper body injury. . Predators D Roman Josi had two assists, the rookie's first NHL multipoint game. . Thornton has 47 points in 35 games against Nashville. . After Sunday, the Sharks will return to San Jose for a four-game homestand.


Three star selections
1st:   SHEA WEBER
2nd:   PATRICK MARLEAU
3rd:   COLIN WILSON
Winning Goaltender
Pekka Rinne

Losing Goaltender
Antti Niemi

SCHEDULE

HOME
AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

STATS

2012-2013 REGULAR SEASON
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
S. Weber 48 9 19 -2 28
D. Legwand 48 12 13 -6 25
M. Fisher 38 10 11 6 21
C. Wilson 25 7 12 1 19
R. Josi 48 5 13 -7 18
G. Bourque 34 11 5 6 16
S. Kostitsyn 46 3 12 -5 15
P. Hornqvist 24 4 10 -1 14
K. Klein 47 3 11 -1 14
N. Spaling 47 9 4 -10 13
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
P. Rinne 15 16 8 .910 2.43
C. Mason 1 7 1 .873 3.73

 


nashvillepredators.com is the official Web site of the Nashville Predators and nashvillepredators.com are trademarks of the Nashville Predators.  NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2013 Nashville Predators and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

NHL Ticket Exchange | Bridgestone Arena | Contact Us | Employment | NHL.com Terms of Use | Site Map | AdChoices