Predators score 6 in win against Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice for the Nashville Predators in a 6-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

"Throughout the night, the whole 60 minutes, we were pretty solid," Granlund said. "We were creating chances and playing hard, so I mean just a really good team effort, and I mean it was a fun game to play."
Granlund also had an assist, and Matt Duchene had three assists for the Predators (28-22-6), who have won two straight and three of four. Juuse Saros made 22 saves.
"It was a fun game," Predators coach John Hynes said. "I thought that we played with good energy [and] good speed. I thought our execution with the puck was good from an offensive perspective. I thought we played with a lot of purpose to our game"
Nico Sturm and Martin Kaut scored, and James Reimer made 25 saves for the Sharks (18-30-11), who have lost four of their past five games.
"I thought from start to finish that we had a pretty good effort against Seattle (a 4-0 win Monday). Tonight, it was really a 180," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "We were lifeless. I thought we were really not sharp in a lot of ways, team wide."

Niederreiter gave Nashville a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:24 of the first period. His shot from the right face-off circle redirected off of defenseman Mario Ferraro's stick on its way into the net.
Granlund made it 2-0 at 1:28 of the second period. Philip Tomasino intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and attempted to score himself before Granlund scored on the rebound.
Sturm cut it to 2-1 at 8:37 with a short-handed goal. Sturm beat Mattias Ekholm to a loose puck in the neutral zone and scored over Saros' shoulder on a breakaway.
Granlund scored again to make it 3-1 at 13:34 when Tomasino set him up with a backhand pass on the rush.

Yakov Trenin made it 4-1 at 19:31 with a short-handed goal. Cole Smith stole the puck at the Sharks blue line and passed to Trenin in front for the goal.
Kaut made it 4-2 at 50 seconds of the third period when he was set up by Tomas Hertl. It was Kaut's first goal with San Jose in his second game since being traded from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 25.
"There were some good things," Quinn said. "Nice to see Kaut get a goal. I thought 'Tommy' Hertl had a pretty good night. There were some bright spots, but you have to sift through a lot of bad to find the good."
Niederreiter made it 5-2 at 10:48 when he scored on a backhand shot on a 2-on-1 with Duchene, and Tommy Novak scored on the power play at 14:00 for the 6-2 final.
"We made it look like their group had a lot of fun against us tonight and that's tough to watch as a fan, I bet," Sturm said. "I've thought at least one thing that was always going for us this year is that the group was competing hard. We've always looked like everybody was trying and found a reason to play for something. And today was one of the rare occasions where I thought, just all areas of the ice, we look weak."
NOTES: The Predators swept the season series from the Sharks after opening the season with two wins in the 2022 NHL Global Series in Prague. ... Granlund had his 12th multigoal game in the NHL. … Niederreiter has four goals on a three-game goal streak. … Nashville defenseman Roman Josi had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, five assists). … Novak has eight points (four goals, four assists) on a four-game point streak.