National Hockey League
Nashville 4, San Jose 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 16, 2019
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees: Jake Brenk, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 17562

Viktor Arvidsson scored twice, and Filip Forsberg added a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators defeated the host San Jose Sharks 4-2 Saturday night.

Colton Sissons also scored for the Predators, and goaltender Juuse Saros made 24 saves. Nashville won its second straight and remained a point behind Winnipeg, which beat Calgary 2-1 Saturday, in the chase for first place in the Central Division.

Timo Meier and Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, and Martin Jones stopped 26 of 29 shots. San Jose failed not only to move past the Flames into first place in the Pacific Division, but also in its bid to clinch a Western Conference playoff berth for the second straight game. The Sharks had a six-game winning streak snapped Thursday in a 4-2 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers.

Forsberg scored what proved to be the winner at 7:02 of the third period. After a faceoff win by Nashville's Ryan Johansen in the San Jose end of the ice, Saros stopped a point shot by Matt Irwin. However, the puck went to Forsberg at the left post, and he wheeled behind the net and put a backhanded wraparound into the far side before the goaltender could recover.

It gave Forsberg 300 career NHL points.

Arvidsson added an empty-netter at 18:54 of the third.

The Predators never trailed. Sissons opened the scoring just 1:07 into the first period, converting the rebound of a shot by Craig Smith on a three-on-two break. Calle Jarnkrok also got an assist.

The Sharks tied it at 1-1 at 4:09 of the second period. Joe Pavelski corralled a long rebound allowed by Saros and fed a pass across the crease to Meier, who tapped the puck into the net at the right post.

The Predators pulled back ahead just 24 seconds later on Arvidsson's goal as he deflected a Forsberg shot past Jones.

Thornton evened the score at 17:36 of the second, finishing a give-and-go with Brent Burns by tapping the puck into a vacated net to tie it at 2-2 entering the third.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   San Jose
Viktor Arvidsson 2 Points Timo Meier 1
Viktor Arvidsson 2 Goals Timo Meier 1
Filip Forsberg 1 Assists Brent Burns 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Juuse Saros .923 Save Percentage Martin Jones .897
Juuse Saros 24 Saves Martin Jones 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 30 4 0-2 3-3 15 30
San Jose 26 2 0-3 2-2 13 25
Upcoming Games
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Sharks have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .586 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Predators have a W/L % of .585 after a win and .531 after a loss.