Josi scores twice as Predators beat struggling Sharks 5-2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Roman Josi extended San Jose’s early-season woes.

Josi scored two early goals, and the Nashville Predators beat the Sharks 5-2 on Tuesday night, dropping San Jose to 0-4.

Kyle Turris, Filip Forsberg and Dante Fabbro also scored for the Predators, who have won two of three to start the season.

Brent Burns had a goal and an assist and Evander Kane also scored for the struggling Sharks.

“This is a league where you have to combine work ethic with a smart game,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “We made a few glaring mistakes, and the ones we made they stuck in the back of the net. That’s what a good team will do to you.”

Josi opened the scoring early in the first period.

Colton Sissons carried the puck into the San Jose zone. From the right faceoff dot, he found Josi skating through the slot with a pass. Josi beat Sharks goaltender Martin Jones with a wrist shot high to the stick side.

“(Sissons) got it and made a nice move around a defenseman,” Josi said. “I had a lot of space there in the middle because of his moves, so he made a good play to me.”

Josi scored again at 10:25 of the second.

With the Predators on a power play, Forsberg’s attempt from the left faceoff dot hit the shaft of Jones’ stick and then deflected off the post. Josi stepped in front of the Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s clearing attempt and then fired the puck into the vacated net on Jones’ far side.

Kane halved the Predators lead at 15:12 of the second on the power play, deflecting Logan Couture’s shot from above the left faceoff circle past Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne for his first of the season.

“When things are not really going your way, you try sometimes to do a little bit too much,” Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “I think that today we had longer periods of time when we were controlling play and we were playing the way that we want. But again, I don’t think that we started the way that we wanted.”

Rinne made 33 saves, while Jones finished with 20.

Kane returned to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension for physical abuse of an official during the team’s final preseason game.

Turris gave Nashville another two-goal advantage early in the third with a wrist shot over Jones’ glove off a bank pass from Rocco Grimaldi.

The goal was Turris’ first of the season. He scored seven last season, during which he played in 55 games with two stints on injured reserve.

“It was a big goal at the time,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think that offensive players do feed off of that with confidence. I hope that line continues to produce because I liked them a lot last game and they scored a big goal for us tonight.”

Forsberg found the net at 7:24 of the third, set up by Matt Duchene, who has six assists in three games with Nashville.

“(The Sharks) were playing better, especially in the second part of the second period,” Forsberg said. “I thought we came out OK in the third, but they still had a couple of chances.”

Burns made it 4-2 at 15:37 of the third, and Fabbro added a late empty-netter.

NOTES: Forsberg has points in each of Nashville’s games this season. … Josi has scored twice 10 times but has never posted a hat trick. … Before the game, San Jose announced it had signed former captain C Patrick Marleau to a 1-year contract. He’s expected to meet the Sharks in Chicago before Thursday’s game against the Blackhawks. … Kane’s power-play goal was the Sharks’ first man-advantage goal of the season.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

Predators: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.