GAME DAY: Preds at Sharks, March 11

The Nashville Predators will spend the week in California, and their three-game trip begins tonight in San Jose against the Sharks for a 9:30 p.m. CT puck drop at SAP Center. This evening’s contest marks the third and final meeting between the two clubs this season; the Preds defeated the Sharks in back-to-back games - by 7-5 and 6-5 scores - in January.

The Preds have won each of their last three outings, including a 3-2 victory in overtime on Saturday against Chicago thanks to a hat trick from Steven Stamkos. Now, they’ll look to continue building their game and identity with less than 20 games to go.

“We’ve been on the puck a lot more than we have been,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Monday of his club’s recent success. “We've kind of gotten a little bit into that identity. We're really working, really tracking, we're contesting every puck, and we're turning and going. And I think when we're at our best - and we haven't brought that consistency all year, you’d see flashes in the game here and there - but these are three games where I think you saw that throughout. So hopefully we can build off that. And obviously with the [trade] deadline left, there's always some tension and some anxiety. We're hoping now that it's gone, and we're moving forward here, that we can bring that every night."

Preds forward Jakub Vrana and defenseman Jordan Oesterle both made their Nashville debuts on Saturday night after being claimed on waivers on Thursday. Vrana recorded two shots on goal in 12:12 of ice time; Oesterle had one shot and one blocked shot in 16:27.

Last Time Out:

Stamkos had a milestone night as he scored goal No. 574 of his career, good enough to pass Mike Bossy for sole possession of 23rd place in NHL history. He became the third active player with 100 multi-goal games, joining Alex Ovechkin (178 GP) and Sidney Crosby (103 GP).

Stamkos recorded his 14th career hat trick, passing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and John Tavares (all with 13) for sole possession of the third most among active players, behind Alex Ovechkin (32) and David Pastrnak (18).

The Good Guys:

Filip Forsberg continues to lead the Preds with 24 goals and 57 points, followed by Jonathan Marchessault (19g-29a) with 48 points, and then Stamkos with 21 goals and 41 points. Ryan O’Reilly also has 41 points (16g-25a). Juuse Saros is 15-25-6 in net, while Justus Annunen has a 14-9-0 record.

The Opposition:

The Sharks have dropped their last two decisions, including a 4-2 loss to the Islanders on Saturday night. Macklin Celebrini (20g-28a) and William Eklund (14g-34a) are both tied for the team lead with 48 points, followed by Tyler Toffoli (24g-19a) with 43 points and Will Smith (12g-20a) with 32 points. Alexandar Georgiev is 12-21-1 in net; former Preds goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is 4-6-2.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 48-29-(2)-8 all-time against the Sharks, including a 19-17-(1)-6 mark in San Jose. Nashville is a perfect 10-0-0 in their last 10 meetings and owns a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) against San Jose that dates back to March 16, 2019, in which the team has allowed more than two goals against only twice.

Notables Versus San Jose:

Jonathan Marchessault leads all Predators skaters with 34 points (14g-20a) in 37 career games against the Sharks. It is the most points and assists he has tallied against a single franchise and tied for the most goals. Marchessault has two career-high four-point games against San Jose.

Nashville swept the season series against San Jose in 2023-24, 3-0-0, outscoring the Sharks, 17-5. The Predators tied their season-high with eight goals in an 8-2 win on March 19, 2024, at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators had four players record three points, including Roman Josi (1g-2a) and Filip Forsberg (1g-2a).

Milestone Watch:

Steven Stamkos is two goals from passing Mark Recchi (577) for the 22nd-most goals in NHL history.

Ryan O’Reilly is two goals from 300 in his NHL career.

Juuse Saros is three wins from 200 and three games from 400 in his NHL career.

Nick Blankenburg is four games from 100 in his NHL career.

Colton Sissons is five goals from 100 in his NHL career.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 9 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.

Voice of the Preds Pete Weber and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)