Sharks fail test against division leaders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pete DeBoer wanted to see how his Joe Thornton-less Sharks stacked up against one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final after winning five of six games. He learned that his team still needs to put in more work to be among the upper tier in the west.

The Nashville Predators (3514-9) made sure that the Sharks (33-20-8) failed their measuring-stick test Thursday, snapping the Sharks three-game winning streak with a convincing 7-1 win.

In the wake of the loss, the Sharks hold a narrow one-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks for second place in the Pacific Division.

Nick Bonino opened the scoring just 1:55 into the game when goalie Aaron Dell failed to get over to the left post in time to stop his wraparound attempt.

The Predators went ahead 2-0 in the last minute of the first period on a goal from Scott Hartnell on a two-on-one play. Hartnell chipped a pass from Bonino past Dell after Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s attempt to rim the puck at the Predators blue line got blocked.

Logan Couture cut the Predators lead in half at 8:37 of the second, scoring his team-leading 25th goal by banking the puck in off goalie Pekka Rinne from below the goal line with a backhanded pass that was intended for Tomas Hertl in front.

Kevin Fiala regained the Predators two-goal lead with 4:03 left in the middle frame, beating Dell through his five hole after the puck slid off his stick during a deke move on a two on one.

Viktor Arvidsson added to the Sharks pain, making the score 4-1 at 3:49 of the third by putting home a rebound chance on the power play. Ryan Johansen iced the game by scoring the Predators fifth goal at 6:30 of the third and Mattias Ekholm added to the humiliation, making it 6-1 at the 11minute mark.

Calle Jarnkrok scored the Predators seventh goal after the Sharks checked out of the game with 2:09 left on the clock.

Dell surrendered seven goals on 46 shots as his numbers continue to regress to the mean after he posted a .930 save percentage over his first 40 NHL appearances. The backup goalie’s performance over the first three-and-a-half months of the season led to some debate as to whether he should steal some starts from No.1 goalie Martin Jones, who struggled with an .886 save percentage over 13 starts while battling an injury between Dec. 2 and Jan. 18.