SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Kiefer Sherwood scored twice, Filip Forsberg added his 27th of the season and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
Juuse Saros made 23 saves and Gustav Nyquist scored into an empty net. After a 9-2 home loss to Dallas on Feb. 15, the Predators have won the first four games of a five-game trip as they fight to get into the playoffs.
“We just keep plugging away,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we’ve been road warriors here through this stretch.”
Filip Zadina and Mikael Granlund scored for San Jose and Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 31 shots.
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Sherwood had his second career two-goal game. He has five goals in 14 career games against the Sharks, the six-year veteran’s most against any team. His second marker gave Nashville a two-goal lead in the third period after Granlund cut it to one a half-minute into the period.
Sherwood took advantage of a hard San Jose shot that rimmed around and fed the Nashville rush. He worked his way around the Sharks’ Henry Thrun and then fired a shot past Kahkonen to make it 3-1.
“I just sensed a little hesitation,” Sherwood said. “I was able to get around them and then just tried to cut to the middle and used my shot.”
Thrun, in his second season, said he made the wrong read on the play and that trying to be aggressive backfired.
“Just had one misstep, and in the NHL, that’s a telltale sign that it’s going to get by you,” Thrun said.
The Predators have “a little mojo” as they look to sweep the five-game road trip on Sunday at Anaheim.
“Four is nice, but we got to finish strong and find a way to get the fifth because these points are coming down to the wire here — and it’s playoff hockey,” Sherwood said.
Zadina scored midway through the period to cut it to 3-2, but San Jose cold not find the late equalizer and Nyquist added the empty-netter.
San Jose has dropped five of its last six. The Sharks had four days off before the game, while the Predators are in a stretch of three games in four nights.
“It was frustrating tonight because we had some really good stretches and then we had some really tough ones, and the one thing we’ve got to do is clean up our bad stretches,” Sharks coach David Quinn said.
Forsberg gave Nashville a 2-0 lead late in the second when he ripped in a wrist shot from the right point on the power play, after drawing a tripping penalty on Thrun. Forsberg passed David Legwand for second on the franchise points list with 567. The 29-year-old Forsberg, who played briefly with Legwand at the start of his career.
“It’s cool,” Forsberg said. “I think it’s something that you’ll look back on when you’re gray and old, and obviously think a little bit more about.”
UP NEXT
Predators: At Anaheim on Sunday.
Sharks: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.
