Macklin Celebrini scored the only goal of the shootout to lift the San Jose Sharks past the Nashville Predators 3-2 Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for San Jose, while Nashville dropped its third straight.
Mason Marchment and Will Smith scored in regulation for the Sharks, who got 33 saves from goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos answered for the Predators, and Juuse Saros turned aside 30 shots before the game went to the extra frames.
How The Sharks Won It
Marchment opened the scoring 5:20 into the first period, converting a pass from Tyler Toffoli for his second goal of the season. Smith doubled the lead at 4:28 of the third, snapping a wrist shot from the right circle. Smith has seven points, including three goals, in seven career games against Nashville.
Nashville answered twice in the final period. O’Reilly scored on the power play at 9:05, jamming in a rebound off a Jonathan Marchessault shot for his second straight game with a goal. Stamkos then tied it with 0.8 seconds left in regulation, beating Nedeljkovic with Saros pulled for the extra attacker.
Overtime belonged to the goaltenders. Saros stopped Smith on a breakaway with 3:30 remaining, then denied Kiefer Sherwood on another breakaway with 1:14 left. Nedeljkovic matched him by stopping a Roman Josi one-timer with nine seconds on the clock, sending the game to a shootout. Celebrini settled it there, beating Saros high on the glove side.
Top Performers
Nedeljkovic made 33 saves and won his second consecutive start. Saros stopped 30 of 32 shots and fell to 15-2-2 in his career against San Jose.
Marchment and Smith each logged a goal for San Jose, with Toffoli, Michael Kesselring and Igor Chernyshov picking up assists. Stamkos and O’Reilly scored for Nashville, with Filip Forsberg, Marchessault and Josi drawing helpers on the two third-period goals.
What It Means
All four of San Jose’s wins this season have come in extra time. The Sharks snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory.
Nashville lost its third straight. Stamkos tied the game with just 0.8 seconds left in regulation before the Sharks won in the shootout.
What’s Next
San Jose leads the season series 1-0. The Sharks visit Detroit on Saturday, while Nashville hosts St. Louis on Saturday.
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