Predators at Sharks
Joel Ward looks to build off his second career hat trick when the San Jose Sharks host his former team in the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Ward, who played three seasons in Nashville, enjoyed his recent offensive outburst in a 5-2 victory over Carolina on Saturday to increase his team-leading goal (five) and point (eight) totals.
"I've always believed in myself," Ward told the team's website. "I know I'm not the prettiest hockey player, but I've always believed in my abilities." While the Sharks snapped a three-game skid on Saturday, the Predators saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 overtime setback to Pittsburgh. James Neal scored his sixth goal during his five-game point streak in that contest and also tallied in Nashville's 5-1 rout of San Jose on Feb. 17. Unfortunately for the Predators, they failed to make a dent in either meeting at the SAP Center last season as they dropped a pair of 2-0 decisions to the Sharks.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (6-1-1): Nashville's bread and butter always has centered around its defense, and the team wasted little time getting potential restricted free agent Mattias Ekholm under wraps. The 25-year-old Swede signed a six-year, $22.5 million contract extension on Monday to join fellow blue-liners Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and captain Shea Weber with deals spanning through the next several years. The last line of defense is netminder Pekka Rinne, who yielded just three goals but finished with a 1-2-0 record versus San Jose last season.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (5-3-0): Tommy Wingels scored his first goal of the season on Saturday and recorded a tally and an assist in his last meeting with Nashville. San Jose could get healthier on Wednesday as rookie Joonas Donskoi (lower body) and Ben Smith (head) are in line to return after five- and three-game absences, respectively. "They got through another practice and both feel pretty good, but we'll have to wait until (Wednesday) morning," coach Peter DeBoer told CSNBayArea.com.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose has failed in its last 11 power-play opportunities and is 3-for-25 on the season.
2. Nashville begins a four-game, nine-day road trip with the Country Music Association Awards being held at Bridgestone Arena.
3. Sharks captain Joe Pavelski scored his second goal in four games on Saturday and has 11 tallies in 30 career meetings with the Predators.