Predators 6, Sharks 2
PREDATORS 6, SHARKS 2: Captain Shea Weber scored a pair of goals and Nashville rode a hot start in continuing its recent run of strong play at home while sending San Jose to another loss on its lengthy road trip.
Colin Wilson, Kevin Klein, Martin Erat and Nick Spaling scored and Pekka Rinne stopped 32 shots to earn his NHL-leading 34th win for the Predators, who have picked up points in their last 11 games (9-0-2) at Bridgestone Arena.
Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski scored for the road-weary Sharks, who have lost six of eight on a season-long nine-game jaunt. Their latest loss knocked them out of a first-place tie with Phoenix after the Coyotes beat Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.
The Predators jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 3:23 into the contest. Jordin Tootoo stole the puck at his own blue line, skated along the boards and fed a cross-ice pass to Wilson, who scored his 14th with a low wrister. Weber got in on the act when he finished unguarded from the backdoor a minute later.
Marleau got one back in the middle of the first with his 26th goal of the season. His backhander found the net after Rinne failed to possess a loose puck. But Klein pushed the lead out to 3-1 before the end of the first, chasing Antti Niemi in the process.
Niemi allowed the three goals on just seven shots and was pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss.
The Sharks again closed the gap to one goal, this time with Pavelski tallying 23 seconds into the middle session on a one-timer from Marleau. It was Pavelski’s fourth goal in three games against Nashville this season.
Weber doubled his total and put the Predators ahead 4-2 at 12:04 of the second. With the man advantage, David Legwand and Ryan Suter worked the puck from side to side before dumping it back to Weber for a forceful one-timer from the blue line.
Marleau had a goal waived off in the third when the Sharks were called for goaltender interference. Erat and Spaling added goals in the final two minutes.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Sharks center Dominic Moore missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. ... Rinne’s 34 wins are a career high. ... Marleau has three goals his past two games. ... San Jose closes it road trip against Minnesota on Sunday.