Sharks routed by Predators, 7-1.
NASHVILLE, TENN. » Nashville is a fun hockey town to visit. It’s a tough place to earn two points.
The Nashville Predators (37-14- 9) made sure that the Sharks (33-20- 8) left Music City with sour feelings Thursday, snapping their three-game winning streak by handing them one of their most-lopsided losses of the season.
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.
Here’s what we learned as the Sharks took a 7-1 shellacking in Nashville. 1. THE SHARKS NEED TO PUT IN SOME WORK TO BE AMONG THE WESTERN CONFERENCE’S UPPER-TIER TEAMS » After the Sharks’ morning practice Thursday, coach Pete DeBoer said his squad’s game against the Central Division’s top team would give the group a chance to see how it stacks up against the best in the West after winning five of six games.
The result suggests the Sharks will need to put in some work to be among the Western Conference’s upper-tier teams.
The Predators showed just how balanced their game is, displaying their offensive firepower, putting on a special teams clinic and getting stellar netminding from goalie Pekka Rinne, who earned his 300th NHL win.
Nashville’s eighth-ranked offense scored seven goals,
their fourth-ranked power play went 1 for 2, their eighth-ranked penalty kill went 5 for 5, and the team improved upon its NHLbest save percentage (. 922) as Rinne stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced.
“They’re a good team over there and we do need to pick up our game a little bit when we head to barns like this and not have blowups like that,” defenseman Justin Braun said. “At the same time, we’ve got to throw that one away and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Despite the lopsided score, the Sharks said they’re capable of hanging with the Predators. The Sharks said they put together two periods of decent hockey, trailing 3-1 after 40 minutes. The game got away from them in the third when Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen, Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok got on the scoresheet.
“It didn’t feel like a 7-1 game,” DeBoer said. “I thought we were playing a pretty decent road game (going into the third). You have to credit them. They have the ability to open the floodgates and really pour it on. They did that in the third and it got away from us.” 2. THE SHARKS WILL GET A CHANCE TO KEEP DELL IN
FREE AGENCY » The goaltending debate in San Jose proved to be short-lived.
After recording a .930 save percentage in his first 40 NHL appearances, backup goalie Aaron Dell sparked a debate in January over whether he should steal some starts away from Martin Jones, who struggled with an .886 save percentage over 13 starts while battling an injury between Dec. 2 and Jan. 18.
With seven goals against Thursday, Dell’s numbers continued their natural regression toward the mean. Dell has recorded an .855 save percentage over his last five starts, dropping his season and career save percentages to .912 and .920. Jones, meanwhile, is red hot with a .940 save percentage over his last nine starts, leaving no doubt he’s the Sharks No. 1 goalie.
Braun placed the blame for the free fall in Dell’s numbers on the Sharks’ team defense.
“We just haven’t been giving the effort in front of him that we need to,” the defenseman said. “He’s making the first save and they’re whacking home rebounds. We can’t let that happen. We need to play better when he’s in net.”
The good news is that Dell’s return to earth should give the Sharks a good shot of retaining his services when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer. With more average numbers, Dell’s stock will drop, making his price tag more affordable. 3. SHARKS’ POWER PLAY IS FINALLY COOLING OFF» The power play is starting its natural ebb after flowing for three straight months.
The Sharks went 0 for 5 with the man advantage Thursday, making the power play 0 for 18 over the team’s last seven games.
The power play had been scoring at a relentless pace, producing at a 29 percent clip (34 for 117) in between Nov. 18 and Feb. 8.
“We got good looks. It’s going to come. It’s just like slumps, they happen,” DeBoer said. “I’m not concerned about it.”
Are the Sharks missing Joe Thornton on the power play?
The Sharks went 6 for 17 (35.3 percent) with the extra man over their first seven games without Thornton before they hit their current rut.
“Definitely. He’s a huge piece. He’s been a huge piece for 12 years on it. But we’ve shown we’re capable,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “There’s definitely better play out of us.”
• Eric Fehr made his Sharks debut after joining the team in a trade with Toronto on Tuesday.