Forsberg scores twice, Predators edge Sharks for 5th straight win

SAN JOSE -- Filip Forsberg scored twice to extend his goal streak to seven as the Nashville Predators won their second straight game against the San Jose Sharks, 6-5 at SAP Center on Thursday.

Nashville came from 5-1 down to beat San Jose 7-5 in Nashville on Tuesday.

Steven Stamkos, Gustav Nyquist, and Tommy Novak scored for the Predators (18-22-7), who have won five straight. Brady Skjei had three assists, and Justus Annunen made 30 saves.

"It was an interesting game, to say the least," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "We never really felt comfortable even when we were up 5-2. We hung in there. There were all kinds of momentum shifts in the game."

Macklin Celebrini, Walker Duehr, and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks (14-31-6), who have lost five straight. Mikael Granlund had three assists and Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves.

"I thought we battled. It got away from us there," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "We competed [and] did some things to get back in the hockey game. We showed some fight and character. Unfortunately, we come up with a loss."

Nyquist scored a power-play goal at 3:58 of the first period, giving the Predators a 1-0 lead. Novak fed a pass from the slot to the left circle, which Nyquist one-timed into an open net.

Novak made it 2-0 Predators 54 seconds later at 4:52 after Zachary L'Heureux's wraparound attempt created a rebound off Askarov's pad.

Forsberg put the Predators up 3-0 at 6:53 when he deflected Justin Barron's shot from the right point past the blocker of Askarov.

"We are finding ways to win games," Forsberg said. "The effort is there, but there are certainly things that we can tighten up."

Duehr scored his first as a member of the Sharks at 8:12 to cut the lead to 3-1. Mario Ferraro's shot from the center point was deflected twice, first by Nikolai Kovalenko and then by Duehr over Annunen's blocker.

"It was nice to find one there," Duehr said. "It was a nice response, too, after [Luke Kunin, Barclay Goodrow, and Ty Dellandrea fought]. It was pretty awesome to see that from those guys."

Ferraro made it 3-2 at 16:34 after Granlund passed the puck to the point. Ferraro walked into the left circle and beat Annunen with a wrist shot.

"I think [Granlund has] been really good the last two games. He's skating more. He's making plays. I like that line," Warsofsky said. "He just impacts the game in a lot of different ways."

Forsberg scored his second of the game at 1:38 of the second period to give the Predators a 4-2 lead with a wraparound to Askarov's right.

Stamkos extended the Predators lead to 5-2 with a power-play goal at 7:07. Jonathan Marchessault's one-timer from the left circle squeaked through Askarov for Stamkos to tap in.

"We're just a little off on the [penalty] kill right now," Warsofsky said. "We made some adjustments after the first period, almost a whole new system. We just were just a little off, a little slow and making our reads."

Henry Thrun cut the lead to 5-3 at 12:39 with a snap-shot from the slot past Annunen's blocker.

Zetterlund made it 5-4 at 13:54 with a tap-in goal into an empty net after Will Smith fed a pass in front.

Celebrini tied the game 5-5 at 15:21 on a power play with a wrist shot from the high slot.

Fedor Svechkov gave the Predators a 6-5 lead with a power-play goal at 8:16 of the third period. Svechkov went across the blue line and then fired a wrist shot past Askarov's blocker.

"I would like to play these games every night. 6-5, we're scoring, they're scoring, everybody in the game," Svechkov said. "I think it's good for the fans and good for us that we won this game.”

NOTES: Forsberg is the first player in NHL history to record a seven-game goal streak after going 18 games without a goal. ... The Predators have won 12 straight games against the Sharks dating to Dec. 10, 2019. The only team with a longer active run against a single franchise is the Boston Bruins (14-0-0 vs SJS). ... Celebrini scored his 15th career goal and tied Jeff Friesen for the most by a Sharks player before the age of 19. Celebrini now leads all rookies in goals this season. ... Dellandrea left the game in the second period after Nashville forward Cole Smith was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head. Warsofsky did not have an update on Dellandrea's status postgame. ... Askarov faced the Predators for the first time since he was traded to the Sharks on Aug. 23.