Thursday night is about chasing history for the Nashville Predators.
When it hosts the San Jose Sharks in Bridgestone Arena
Cheap Brian O'Neill Jersey , Nashville can break the franchise’s single-season record for points with a victory. Currently sitting at 109 points
with a 49-16-11 mark, the Predators can also move a step closer to home-ice
advantage for the Stanley Cup playoffs by picking up two points.
Probably of more importance to the players and coach Peter Laviolette, however, is maintaining the level of play they displayed Tuesday night in a 2-1
shootout win over Minnesota. After allowing 13 goals in the previous three games
— all losses — Nashville limited the Wild to 23 shots and controlled most of the
game.
“It was a good step in the right direction to getting back to the way we need to play as we approach the playoffs,” Laviolette said. “I thought our guys just
did a really good job of locking down tonight, especially early on in the
game.”
Three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the NHL’s best record, the Predators also lead surging Winnipeg by five points in the Central Division with six games
remaining. While they reached the Stanley Cup Finals last spring, the franchise
has never captured a division title in its 20-year history.
Laviolette and his team identified their last 12 division games as being particularly critical to achieving a division title. The victory over Minnesota
enabled Nashville to go 9-2-1 in that stretch, no small feat since there’s a
decent chance the division will send five teams to the Western Conference
playoffs.
“We always mark these games against Central Division opponents,” captain Roman Josi said. “They’re always big games in our division. It’s such a tough
division and there are so many good teams
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While the Predators are running down history, San Jose (44-23-10) is still trying to catch Vegas in the Pacific Division. Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss
in St. Louis gave the Sharks a point, but a second one would have helped that
long-shot bid.
Despite the outcome, San Jose coach Peter DeBoer wasn’t entirely upset with his team’s performance.
“It was our fifth game in eight days,” he said. “I thought we had a lot of factors going, but I thought the guys dug deep and got a valuable point.”
The Sharks trail the Golden Knights by five points with five games left, and must try for a win in perhaps their biggest jinx building in the league. Dating
to the strike-shortened 2013 season, they have won just once in their last 11
visits to Bridgestone.
That includes a 7-1 blowout on Feb. 22, when Nashville scored four third-period goals and presented Pekka Rinne with his 300th career win in goal.
San Jose gave up a whopping 46 shots on net that night, and goalie Martin Jones
was pulled after allowing six markers.
Jones (29-18-6
Davante Adams Jersey Youth , 2.45 goals-against average, .918 save percentage) should be back in net Thursday night after Aaron Dell played in St.
Louis. Rinne (41-11-4, 2.25, .929) figures to get the call for the
Predators.
The surging San Francisco Giants have made the NL West a little more intriguing.
Brandon Belt and Joe Panik drove in two runs each, Hunter Pence had a pinch-hit, two-run double, and the Giants completed a three-game sweep with a
9-6 victory over the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. It was San
Francisco’s seventh win in eight games and their first sweep of the Diamondbacks
since September of 2016. San Francisco moved into a second-place tie at 2 1/2
games behind Arizona for the first time since June 10.
A four-run fifth inning highlighted by Pence’s double off reliever Silvino Bracho gave the Giants an 8-3 lead. Cory Gearrin (1-1) got one out in the fourth
inning to earn the win in relief of starter Derek Holland.
Afterward, manager Bruce Bochy praised the veteran Pence – who is primarily a bench player at present – for accepting his role.
”He is our spiritual leader. I know his role has changed and he has handled it so well. This is a little bit of a change for him and it is not easy,” Bochy
said. ”He has a great attitude and just wants to help the club win.”
The Giants tagged starter Zack Godley (9-6) for seven runs on nine hits in four-plus innings, ending his four-game winning streak. But Holland didn’t make
it out of the fourth
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The Diamondbacks couldn’t take advantage, as Belt raced well beyond the first base bag into shallow right field to throw out Christian Walker at first and end
the inning.
”We feel like we are in a good rhythm,” Pence said. ”It’s part of baseball and we feel like we are working on all cylinders and that is definitely
momentum.”
Holland allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Godley’s five walks were the second most he’s issued in a start this season.
”I couldn’t locate certain pitches and they took advantage of that,” Godley said. ”They’re swinging the bat really well right now, one through nine.”
Arizona rallied with two runs in the seventh on Paul Goldschmidt’s 18th home run of the season, and Jarrod Dyson became the eighth player in team history to
record at least two hits, two RBIs and two stolen bases in a game.
The Diamondbacks brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth with two outs, but Will Smith struck out Jake Lamb for Smith’s second save.
”They kicked our butts. They came in here and beat us, straight up,” Lamb said.
WALKER IN LEFT
Walker
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FREQUENT FLIER
To help provide coverage for the bullpen amid a long stretch without a day off, Arizona called up Bracho from Triple-A Reno before Sunday’s game. Pitcher
Jimmy Sherfy was sent back to Reno. Bracho has been recalled five times this
season.
FIRST PITCH FOR FIRST PICK
Recently drafted Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton, the first overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sunday’s
game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: 3B Pablo Sandoval was hit by a pitch in the right elbow in the third inning and left the game before the bottom of the inning. X-rays were negative
and the injury was announced as a deep bruise, with Sandoval’s status day to
day. … 3B Evan Longoria is about a week away from taking some swings as he works
his way back from a broken left hand, Bochy said. … RHP Jeff Samardzija’s final
rehab start for Triple- A Sacramento is set for Monday and he is expected to
pitch five or six innings with around 90 pitches.
Diamondbacks: INF Ketel Marte was held out after suffering a right leg cramp in Saturday’s game. Manager Torey Lovullo said he felt the team ”dodged a
bullet” as far a more serious injury.
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (1-2) is set for his sixth start of the season in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday in Denver.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (3-0) is set to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener at Chase Field on Monday.
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