Weber scores twice to lead Preds over Sharks 6-2
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shea Weber scored two goals to lead the Nashville Predators to a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Colin Wilson, Kevin Klein, Martin Erat and Nick Spaling also scored for Nashville, which has won three of its last four. The Predators also won for the 16th time in their last 20 home games.
Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for Nashville to record a new career high in wins with 34.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski scored for San Jose. The Sharks fell to 2-5-1 on their season-high nine-game road trip, which closes at Minnesota on Sunday.
Thomas Greiss made 11 saves for the Sharks after replacing Antti Niemi, who stopped four of the seven shots he faced.
Wilson scored the game's first goal at 2:03 of the opening period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jordin Tootoo forced a turnover by Sharks defenseman Colin White at the blue line and carried the puck down the ice on the right side. Tootoo sent a pass to Wilson in the slot, where he beat Niemi low to the stick side.
Weber doubled the Nashville lead just 1:20 later.
Sergei Kostitsyn led the Predators into the San Jose zone on a 3-on-2. From the left boards, he passed it to Erat in the left circle. Erat immediately found Weber on the right side and the Predators captain beat Niemi with a wrist shot just under the crossbar.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marleau halved the Nashville lead with 9:02 to go in the first, but Klein sent the Predators into the first intermission with a 3-1 with on his goal 5 minutes later.
Following Klein's goal, Niemi was lifted in favor of Greiss.
Pavelski scored just 23 seconds into the second to again draw the Sharks within a goal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joe Thornton had two assists for San Jose, while Marleau and Pavelski each had an assist in addition to their goals.
With the Predators on a power play, Weber scored his second of the game with 7:56 to go in the second on a one-timer from just inside the blue line.
It was Weber's second two-goal game this season and eighth of his career.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nashville has scored 44 power-play goals this season, three more than in all of 2010-11.
Erat's empty-net goal with 2 minutes remaining and Spaling's goal in the final seconds of the third concluded the scoring for Nashville.
Notes: Klein's four goals on the season equal a career high. ... Nashville RW Patric Hornqvist returned to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury ... Nashville D Roman Josi had two assists ... Thornton has 47 points in 35 career games played against Nashville. ... After their road trip, the Sharks return to San Jose for a four-game homestand.