The Nashville Predators went shark hunting Tuesday, March 25, taking down San Jose in a 6-3 final at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators extended their win streak to five games, their longest since January 2025. It's also their second six-goal performance in March and fourth this season.
"Everyone came ready to play. We're getting rewarded too," Preds forward Filip Forsberg said. "I thought we did a lot of right things for getting on their defensemen, getting pucks back, creating a couple goals off the rush as well. Set the tone for the rest of the game."Nashville Predators
Forsberg tallied one goal and two assists, extending his point streak to five games. It's his third game in the streak where he's posted three points. In total, Forsberg has racked up five goals and seven assists for 12 points during the stretch. He is two points behind center Ryan O'Reilly for first in team points and three behind center Steven Stamkos for first in team goals.
Nashville got off to a hot start in the first period with five goals, four of which were unanswered. Forsberg opened the scoring 2:34 into it. The Sharks tallied one, but the Preds responded. Matthew Wood scored his 16th goal of his rookie campaign 1:24 after the Sharks, followed up by Roman Josi and Luke Evangelista within 46 seconds of each other. Brady Skjei added one more to close scoring in the period.
"I really liked our mindset in the first period," Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "I thought we got off on the right foot. We started on time and we got to our party pretty quick. We executed the game plan, especially in the first period, to what we knew we needed to do and we understand the importance of the game and who we're playing."Nashville Predators YT
"We know [San Jose] they're right behind us and we took care of business tonight," forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "What makes us successful, just passing the puck a little bit more than just shoving it somewhere else. I think that makes a big different into our game and our start tonight."Nashville Predators YT
Scoring quieted down in the middle frame. Stamkos sniped one behind the faceoff circle on the power play for Nashville's fifth unanswered goal. Marchessault recorded his third assist of the night, his biggest point performance this season. Sharks' winger Will Smith rounded out the period with a power play goal of his own, setting the score at 6-2.
Smith potted another 1:40 into the final period, but it wasn't enough as Nashville took home their fifth-consecutive win. The victory puts the team within three points of the first wild card spot in the West, occupied by the Utah Mammoth.
"Every game from here on out, it's going to be a playoff-type game for us, and the points are so important," Skjei said. "We're playing our best hockey right now. There's a little confidence in the room and obviously it's happening at a great time at the end of the year. We're going to try to keep building on that into the playoffs."Nashville Predators YT
Nashville looks to add onto their streak Thursday against the New Jersey Devils at home.