Meier, Sharks top Predators in 7th round of shootout

Timo Meier scored in the seventh round of a previously scoreless shootout to give the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Saturday night.After Martin Jones stopped a Rocco Grimaldi try to start the round, Meier looped in from the right side and then roofed a wrist shot over the blocker side of Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros. Meier also had an assist on the Sharks’ only goal in regulation, scored by Tomas Hertl.Jones, playing in his 300th NHL game, had 24 saves for San Jose, which extended its winning streak to three games. The Sharks won for the first time in 10 games this season when trailing after two periods, and the first time in nine when trailing after one.Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville, while Saros finished with 31 saves.Both teams were coming off sloppy defensive efforts on Thursday night — Nashville allowed a franchise-record nine goals, including six over a span of eight minutes in a 9-4 loss at Colorado, while San Jose gave up three goals in less than eight minutes late in the third period of a 6-5 victory over Minnesota.They combined for just one goal over the first two periods, and that didn’t come until the 14:44 mark of the second period, with a highlight-reel score by Forsberg.Forsberg carried in the puck on the left side of the blue line and passed the puck to himself through the skates of Erik Karlsson. Forsberg then powered around the Sharks defenseman before flipping a shot short side over Jones’ blocker from the bottom of the left circle for his eighth goal of the season.Hertl tied it at the 5:22 mark of the third period with his seventh goal of the year, slapping in a rebound of a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot that he had deflected into the pads of Saros.Nashville got a four-on-three power play with 1:31 to go in overtime when Evander Kane was called for hooking but failed to capitalise when Jones stopped all four of its shots.Capitals knock off Knights for 6th straightNicklas Backstrom scored twice, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 Saturday night.Backstrom scored both of his goals in the third period — the final two goals of the game and last into an empty net. Tom Wilson and Jonas Siegenthaler each also scored as Washington won its sixth consecutive game.Jakub Vrana and John Carlson both added two assists, as the Caps are on a 10-0-1 roll. Goalie Braden Holtby earned the win with 30 saves and has gone 7-0-1 in his last eight games.These two teams met in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, which Washington won in five games. But this is the first time they’ve played since Dec. 4, when the Golden Knights won 5-3.The Capitals started quickly Saturday when Dmitry Orlov made a pass that sprung Kuznetsov on a breakaway, and he beat goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 58 seconds into the game.Washington kept the pressure on and made it 2-0 after a Vegas turnover in its own end that Vrana sent over to Wilson. The big winger quickly fired one past Fleury 5:53 into the first period.The Golden Knights answered when Max Pacioretty scored from in front just under nine minutes in. Vegas won a draw, and the puck rolled over to Pacioretty, who put it into the net.Washington and the Golden Knights traded goals in the second period. Siegenthaler scored his first NHL goal — and even grabbed the puck off the ice moments later — with 4:28 left.Then, Reilly Smith notched his 10th goal of the season, a power-play score just under two minutes later to cut the Knights’ deficit to 3-2.But Backstrom gave Washington some insurance on a power-play goal with 8:30 remaining in the game. His goal snuck between Fleury’s left arm and body and dribbled into the net for a 4-2 lead.Backstrom’s empty-net goal came in the final minute.