Luke Evangelista – Sports Radio Service

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (99) goes after the puck past San Jose Sharks center Zack Ostapchuk (63) in the second period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Mar 24, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 6-3 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. Filip Forsberg, Matthew Wood, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista and Brady Skjei scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 27 saves for the win. Adam Gaudette scored for the Sharks and Will Smith scored twice. Alex Nedeljkovic made 13 saves in the loss. This was the Sharks’ fifth loss in a row.

Discussing the Sharks troubles getting out of their own zone, Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said:

“It’s simple hockey. We get the puck in the zone and then we’re free to make plays. Absolutely we have a lot of skill in this locker room, a lot of talent. When we get in the zone, that’s where the creativity is going to come out. But we have to get in the zone first of all.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky had a similar assessment. He said: “Yeah, execution, you know, breaking out pucks, managing it through the neutral zone, playing a little bit more physical at times.”

The first period was an absolute rout. The Predators scored five goals to the Sharks’ single tally. Filip Forsberg scored at 2:34, tipping a shot by Fedor Svechkov. An assist also went to Jonathan Marchessault.

Adam Gaudette tied it at 6:25, tipping a shot from Shakir Mukhamadullin with an assist to Mario Ferraro.

After that, the Predators got goals from Matthew Wood, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista and Brady Skjei. Those all came between 7:49 and 16:36 of the period.

The shot count did not reflect that score, 9-5 Predators. The penalty count was also unremarkable, with just one call against the Sharks. That was the only penalty called.

The Sharks improved in the second period. The Predators did not scored until 12:38. Then, it was a goal from Steven Stamkos on the power play. Assists went to Forsberg and Marchessault.

The Sharks trimmed the five-goal lead with a goal from Will Smith at 17:26. That goal was also on the power play, with a two-man advantage.

The Sharks outshot the Predators 15-6 in the second period. They also stayed on the right side of the penalty problem, taking just one penalty while the Predators took three.

Will Smith scored a second goal at 1:40 of the third period. He scored with a backhand, assisted by Igor Chernyshov and Vincent Desharnais. That was the only goal of the period.

The Sharks outshot the Predators 10-4 in the third period but could not dig their way out of that first period hole.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 5:00 PM PT in St. Louis against the Blues.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Chrona Magnus (30) was pelted with shots all night here the Nashville Predators right winger Michael McCarron (47) celebrates after scoring in the second period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Mar 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 8-2 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. The Predators have now won 13 of their last 15 games, and earned overtime points in the other two of those 15. Roman Josi, Jason Zucker, Michael McCarron, Luke Evangelista, Mark Jankowski and Tommy Novak scored for Nashville.

Juuse Saros made 18 saves for the win. Mikael Granlund and Mario Ferraro scored for San Jose. Magnus Chrona made 32 saves in the loss. The Sharks have now lost five in a row. In their last ten games, they have one win, one overtime loss and one shootout loss.

After the game, two former Predators described the game in gloomy terms. Mikael Granlund described the game as: “A good thirty minutes and bad next 30 minutes.” Luke Kunin said: “Bad in the D zone, not closing quick enough, giving ‘em too much time and space, them getting behind us, us turning pucks over. I think it was pretty clear the things we were doing to kind of feed their offense.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn gave the Predators credit for playing well: “They obviously are in a great groove right now, they’re playing really good hockey, they’re fast, they’re physical, they really play to their identity, each line plays to their identity, they know who they are.” On the other hand, of the Sharks he said: “I thought we did a good job for the first 30 minutes and [then] just really got away from giving ourselves any type of chance.”

The first goal of the game came midway through the first period. Filip Forsberg got to the puck after a faceoff, sent it to Ryan McDonagh at the point. McDonagh sent it along the blue line to Roman Josi who scored with a slap shot.

Mikael Granlund tied the game at 17:18. Klim Kostin’s pass found Granlund skating into the zone clear of any defenders. He took a quick wrist shot to score his tenth of the season. Assists went to Kostin and Mario Ferraro.

Mario Ferraro gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a wrist shot from high in the zone at 5:46 of the second period.

Jason Zucker tied it back up at 9:37. When Colton Sissons’ shot trickled under Chrona, Zucker got behind the goaltender to push it over the line. Assists went to Sissons and McDonagh.

Michael McCarron gave the Predators the lead again at 15:26. Roman Josi skated down to the net and had almost reached the goal line when he centered the puck into some traffic. Keifer Sherwood took a shot and that created a rebound that went to McCarron for a shot at an open net.

Luke Evangelista made it 4-2 at 17:50. Skating across the slot, he took a backhand shot that beat Chrona. Assists went to Josi and Forsberg.

Cole Smith deflected a shot into the net after time expired for the period, scoring the first of two consecutive disallowed goals for the Predators.

Luke Evangelista pushed the puck into the net early in the third period but the goal was called back as Zucker pushed Chrona into the net before Evangelista took the shot.

Michael McCarron scored his second of the night at 10:35 of the third period. He caught a pass off the boards and shot around some traffic to score. An assist went to Sherwood.

Mark Jankowski made it 6-2 at 14:13, deflecting a shot from Tyson Barrie. Barrie and Anthony Beauvillier got the assists.

Filip Forsberg scored his second of the night just 30 seconds later. Gustav Nyquist failed to score from the goal line but created a rebound for Forsberg. Assists went to Nyquist and McDonagh.

Tommy Novak scored his 15^th of the season to make it 8-2 at 16:16 with a backhand shot. Assists went to Sherwood and Jankowski.

The Sharks next play on Thursday back in San Jose against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 PM PT.

Tag: Luke Evangelista

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