Sharks take bite out of Predators for 3rd straight win
SAN JOSE -- Four different San Jose skaters scored, and goalie Martin Jones made 19 saves as the Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Wednesday night.
San Jose (7-5-0) won for the third straight time while Nashville (5-5-2) fell to 1-3-1 in its past five games.
Mikkel Boedker's second goal of the season at 13:43 of the third period capped the scoring and sealed the Sharks' sixth win in eight games.
San Jose received goals from Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the middle period to offset one from Nashville's Roman Josi to take a 3-1 lead into the final period.
Pavelski applied one of his patented tips while skating through the slot on a Brenden Dillon drive from the left point to beat Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (19 saves) at 8:17 with his fourth goal of the season.
Joe Thornton provided the second assist on the goal to collect his 1,400th career point. Thornton ranks 20th on the NHL's all-time list of point producers.
Josi cut the lead in half at 10:04 by taking Calle Jarnkrok's won draw and backhanding his third goal of the season past Jones.
The hosts answered at 13:50 on the power play when Vlasic's drive from the right point caromed off the skate of Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban and past Rinne.
San Jose led 1-0 at the first intermission thanks to Joonas Donskoi's fourth goal of the season. He tipped in a Tim Heed feed at 15:49.
NOTES: Sharks C Joe Pavelski drew his first fighting major since Oct. 26, 2014, (vs. Ben Lovejoy) when he engaged with Nashville C Ryan Johansen, who knocked San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic out of the game with an early-third-period hit to the head. ... San Jose D Paul Martin (ankle) is close to a return after having practiced fully with the team for a second straight day. He missed his 10th game on Wednesday. ... LW Barclay Goodrow, D Dylan DeMelo and LW Jannik Hansen were healthy scratches for San Jose, whose five-game homestand continues Saturday against Anaheim. ... Nashville C Nick Bonino (lower body) missed his seventh straight but participated in the optional morning skate for the first time since getting injured Oct. 14. ... D Anthony Bitetto, D Yannick Weber and LW Pontus Aberg did not dress for Nashville, which next ventures to Anaheim on Friday for stop No. 2 on a four-game trip.