In what has been a very rare occurrence during the point streak, the Nashville Predators were actually trailing the last-place San Jose Sharks in the second period of Tuesday night's matchup at Bridgestone Arena.
The Predators entered the game against a Sharks team that has lost 13 of their last 14 while ranking last in both Expected Goals For and Expected Goals Against. So this should've been an easy win for the streaking Predators, right?
It didn't start off that way. The Predators must have pushed the snooze button a few too many times because they were definitely sloppy to open up. The Sharks weren't particularly impressive, either, but the score remained close into the second period.
Preds Come Out Flat, Finish Strong Against Outmatched Sharks
A first period goal from Roman Josi got everything started, but former Nashville Predators Mikael Granlund got the equalizer. Then Mario Ferraro put the Sharks ahead briefly for under four minutes of game time before Jason Zucker tied it back up.
This was only the second time during the entire point streak, now at 15 consecutive games, that the Predators have trailed. They also briefly were behind the Minnesota Wild and ended up losing in overtime. The other was an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens that featured the freakish puck clearing goal.
Talent and overwhelming forechecking eventually took control of this game as the Predators went on to score seven unanswered goals to tie the 2017-18 Presidents Trophy team for the longest point streak in franchise history. The set the new record, they'll have a much more difficult opponent heading on the road to take on the 94-point Florida Panthers on Thursday.
The Predators haven't lost to the Sharks since 2019, which was a shootout loss, and have outscored the Sharks over those nine-straight wins by a combined scoring margin of 42 to 11. Oof.
Josi Fuels the Preds Again, Everyone Stuffs the Stat Sheet
A good ole fashioned game where guys can pad the stats a bit. You will be hard-pressed to ever find a more lopsided affair, especially considering the score was 2-1 in favor of San Jose in the second period.
The Predators finish with a 5.49 Expected Goals to the Sharks' 0.82. Zucker would lead the Predators in this department with a 1.5 Expected Goals For, followed by Anthony Beauvillier was a 0.82 and three shots on goal.
Yooo...this seems like a crime now. #Preds put a snowman on the Sharks and have tied their franchise record for point streak at 15 games.
— Chad Minton (@chad_minton) March 20, 2024
Players with 3-Pt games tonight:
-Roman Josi
-Filip Forsberg
-Kiefer Sherwood
-Ryan McDonagh
Josi pushed himself even further into the Norris Trophy debate with the three-point night. He now has eight points in his last four games and among defensemen has the most goals with 18.
Three other players had three-point nights with Kiefer Sherwood tallying three assists, Ryan McDonagh also adding three assists, and Filip Forsberg scoring a goal and two assists.
With 13 regular season games remaining, Forsberg just needs to average a point-per-game to set a new NHL career high for himself. He had 84 points in 2021-22.
Other Predators players who have already set career highs in points this season includes Colton Sissons with 34, Luke Evangelista with 32, Cole Smith with 22 and Michael McCarron with 20.
Gus Nyquist needs just one more point to push by his NHL career high of 60 points in a season. So what you're seeing is so many players enjoying there best offensive years with Head Coach Andrew Brunette in his first season with the Predators.
The Predators sit with a record of 40-25-4 and have a firm hold on the top wildcard spot sitting five points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Minnesota Wild sit eight points back, and the St. Louis Blues sit nine points back.
Most playoff predictors give the Predators around a 98 percent chance to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and MoneyPuck even gives the Predators around a 40 percent chance to make it to the second round.