Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks Game Thread – April 4, 2026

The Nashville Predators defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on April 4, 2026, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The victory allowed Nashville to reach 81 points in the standings, moving them into a tie with Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The result marks the 15th consecutive win for the Predators over the Sharks, the longest winning streak the Nashville franchise has ever maintained against a single opponent.

Game Progression and Scoring

Nashville established an early lead in the first period. Filip Forsberg scored twice, including a power-play goal at the 8:38 mark and a second goal shortly after by converting a rebound from Matthew Wood. Steven Stamkos extended the lead to 3-0 late in the first period with a one-timer on the power play, which also served as his 620th career goal.

San Jose attempted a comeback in the second and third periods. The Sharks scored two goals late in the second period from Nick Leddy and Macklin Celebrini, the latter being Celebrini’s 41st goal of the season. Alexander Wennberg scored early in the third period to tie the game at 3-3.

The Predators regained control midway through the third period when Ryan O’Reilly scored off a pass from Luke Evangelista with 11:32 remaining in regulation. Erik Haula added a short-handed goal with 2:34 left to make the score 5-3 and Tyson Jost concluded the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:15 remaining.

Player and Team Performances

Juuse Saros recorded 24 saves for the Predators, while Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves for the Sharks. The loss prevented San Jose from extending their winning streak to five games, a feat they had not achieved since November 2019.

The game was impacted by an injury to Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague, who left during the first period and did not return to the game.

I think just the resiliency that we’ve shown – obviously, we prefer not to give up a three-goal lead and have to fight back to win, but when we have to, we’ve been able to do that a few times. It shows a lot of strength in the group.

Filip Forsberg

Predators head coach Andrew Brunette noted that the team had been built for such adversity, stating that the group hung together after the game became tied in the third period.

We stuck with it. I liked our response in the second. That was probably the one big positive of the game. Obviously disappointed with our third, and just some things we did to kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.

Ryan Warsofsky, Sharks coach

Playoff Implications

The victory was critical for Nashville’s postseason aspirations. By reaching 81 points, the Predators are now tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card position in the West. The Kings also played on April 4, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-6 in overtime.

The San Jose Sharks remain in the race with 79 points, placing them two points behind both Nashville and Los Angeles, although San Jose holds a game in hand.

The Nashville Predators are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, April 6, 2026.