SHARKS ROCK PREDS IN GAME 7 ROUT
San Jose punches ticket to Western Conference final against Blues
TOPSY TURVY Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne is sent sprawling after colliding with San Jose’s Nick Spaling during Game 7 play Thursday night. Rinne had a particularly rough evening. For more on the game,
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SAN JOSE, CALIF.— Captain Joe Pavelski got San Jose off to a fast start in Game 7 with his franchise recordtying ninth goal of the playoffs to send the Sharks to their first Western Conference final in five years with a 5-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
Joel Ward, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau also scored as San Jose bounced back from a lacklustre loss in Game 6 to thoroughly dominate the Predators to reach the conference final for the fourth time in franchise history.
Martin Jones made 20 saves for San Jose’s first playoff shutout in six years. The home team won all seven games in this series.
San Jose will open the conference final on the road Sunday against the St. Louis Blues.
After blowing a 3-0 series lead to Los Angeles in 2014 in their most noteworthy in a long list of playoff collapses and missing the post-season entirely last year, the Sharks are now one round away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in franchise history.
Defensive miscues by Nashville’s two top defencemen, captain Shea Weber and Roman Josi, led to early San Jose goals as Pekka Rinne got little help from his teammates.
The Preds had just eight shots on goal in two periods and Rinne left after allowing goals to Thornton and Marleau early in the third. The frustration boiled over as he slammed his stick against the post and tossed it aside after Marleau’s goal made it 5-0. Carter Hutton replaced Rinne in goal and made one save.