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 The suddenly hot goalie outdueled fellow Finnish netminder Pekka
Rinne to shut out the Predators and preserve the Sharks' pivotal 2-0
win Thursday night at a sold-out SAP Center.
The Sharks (34-26-8) won for the fourth time in five games to gain
two points on the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks, two Western
Conference teams San Jose continues to pursue for a possible playoff
spot.
Meanwhile, Nashville (42-20-7) slipped out of first place in the
Central Division for the first time since Jan. 3. The Blues and the
Predators both have 91 points, but St. Louis has two games in hand.
"It's still not good enough because we're not winning," Nashville
defenseman Shea Weber said. "You can sit here and say 'good effort'
all you want, but we need those two points to make it count."
Niemi made 35 saves to record his fifth shutout of the season and
32nd of his career three nights after making 39 saves during a
shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"He was very confident, and we feel good with him in there right
now," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "He made some very difficult
saves look easy, and there wasn't a lot of leftovers lying around
the crease area."
The Sharks still face an uphill fight to break into the West's top
eight. Victorious Los Angeles moved past Winnipeg into the No. 8
spot, and the Sharks trail the Kings by three points while having
played one more game.
San Jose is within two points of the Jets, whom they visit when the
Sharks start a pivotal seven-game road trip Tuesday. San Jose has to
pass two teams over its final 13 games to reach the postseason for
the 11th straight spring.
"We have a little momentum, but we've got to bring it every night at
this point," Sharks defenseman Justin Braun said. "We can't think
about the last game. We've got to think about the next one going
forward and get those two points."
Forward Tomas Hertl scored at 16:41 of the second period, and right
winger Tommy Wingels scored his 14th of the season on the power play
into an empty net with 58.8 seconds left.
San Jose had to kill two Nashville penalties in the final period to
ensure the victory.
The Sharks scored the only goal of the first 40 minutes after
Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm slashed the stick out of the
hands of right winger Joe Pavelski, giving San Jose its fourth
consecutive power-play chance at 16:28 of the middle period. It took
the Sharks just 13 seconds to convert after they were 0-for-3 with a
combined two shots on their first six minutes of five-on-four power
play.
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Braun induced a short rebound by ripping a shot from the left point.
Hertl corralled the puck before Rinne could cover, and the left
winger backhanded his 11th goal of the season into the vacated net.
Hertl, center Chris Tierney and Wingels were on the ice since San
Jose's top power-play unit struggled on earlier advantages.
"Our first group, which has been so strong all year, really
struggled tonight," McLellan said. "So it was an opportunity for
that other line to get out there, and they got us the goal."
After snapping a six-game losing streak in Arizona on Monday to
start a four-game road trip, Nashville slipped back into losing for
the seventh time in eight games.
"Their first goal was a tough break," Nashville coach Peter
Laviolette said. "I thought we did a really nice job on the (penalty
kill) all night once we settled down. The guys played hard, the
chances were in our favor, the shots in our favor, possession in our
favor, but we didn't get it done.
"Ultimately we need to win hockey games. We have to find a way to
score -- maybe create more traffic and try and get second
opportunities. It's frustrating not to score."
NOTES: Nashville's trip continues Saturday at Los Angeles against
the Kings and concludes Sunday at Anaheim against the Ducks. ... San
Jose caps a three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks on
Saturday. The Sharks finish the regular season by playing 10 of
their final 13 on the road. ... San Jose D Matt Irwin missed his
third consecutive game due to an upper-body injury. ... After
undergoing surgery to repair a right knee ligament for the third
time in his career, 33-year-old San Jose RW Raffi Torres says he is
looking forward to making a comeback next season. He will miss all
of this season. ... Nashville is now 11-4-2 against the Pacific
Division. ... C Calle Jarnkrok, D Anton Volchenkov and D Victor
Bartley were healthy scratches for Nashville, while D Taylor Fedun
was San Jose's lone healthy scratch.
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