San Jose, CA – Craig Smith scored in the second round of the shootout to lift the Nashville Predators over the previously unbeaten San Jose Sharks, 2-1.
Sergei Kostitsyn scored in regulation for the Predators, who have won consecutive games for the first time this season. Pekka Rinne made 26 saves.
Martin Havlat lit the lamp for the Sharks, who fell to 7-0-1 on the season. They went to a shootout for the third straight game.
Antti Niemi stopped 23-of-24 shots for San Jose, which wrapped up a six-game homestand on Saturday.
"They play good defense with great goaltending," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "We had our chances. We just didn't bear down. It was just a good, hard- fought game."
The Sharks almost broke a scoreless tie midway through the second period. Ryane Clowe's shot from the right circle snuck through Rinne's five-hole before hitting the post.
The first goal of the game came 59 seconds into the third. Kostitsyn's shot from the right circle got past Niemi.
Nashville had too many men on the ice with 7:34 remaining, and the Sharks took advantage to tie the game. Havlat took a feed from Scott Gomez and put a backhander past Rinne.
Following Smith's backhander in the shootout, Rinne stopped Joe Pavelski to secure the victory.
Game Notes
The Predators won 2-1 against the Kings in an eight-round shootout on Thursday ... Nashville improved to 3-2-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends Tuesday in St. Louis ... Predators forward Martin Erat (lower body) missed the game.
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