NHL - Playoffs - San Jose Sharks @ Nashville Predators 3-4 OT - Monday, May 09, 2016 - Game 6

Viktor Arvidsson scored the first Stanley Cup Playoff goal of his career at 2:03 of overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Bridgestone Arena on Monday. The best-of-7 series is tied 3-3. Game 7 will be in San Jose on Thursday. Arvidsson carried the puck into the Sharks zone and beat goaltender Martin Jones with a backhand shot over his shoulder. 
The Predators trailed 2-0, then tied it 2-2 before falling behind on Logan Couture’s goal midway through the third period. Colin Wilson tied it 3-3 with 7:16 remaining in regulation with his fifth goal of the postseason. James Neal made a cross-ice pass through traffic that Wilson quickly redirected past Jones.
Couture gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 10:04 of the third. He took a pass from defenseman Brent Burns and shot it past goaltender Pekka Rinne from the top of the left faceoff circle for his sixth goal of the playoffs and fifth goal of the series.
Chris Tierney scored twice in the first period to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a shot from the point, and Tierney, at the left faceoff dot, redirected the puck past Rinne at 9:55 to open the scoring. 
Tierney scored again at 11:51 on a backhand shot from below the right faceoff circle. Forward Matt Nieto's initial shot was deflected to Tierney, who shot it past Rinne for his second goal of the game and third of the playoffs.
Predators defenseman Roman Josi scored to make it 2-1 at 15:27 of the first on a shot from the slot. He retrieved a loose puck in the Sharks zone, made a hesitation move to get around the defense, and beat Jones with a backhand flick from between the hash marks for his first goal of the playoffs. Ryan Johansen tied it 2-2 at 1:25 of the second period on a backhand from in front of the net. He made a forehand-to-backhand move to get around Sharks defenseman Justin Braun and scored his fourth goal of the playoffs. 
The Predators will get more than one day in between games for the first time in the playoffs. Nashville coach Peter Laviolette believes the two-day break before Game 7 is coming at the perfect time. Nieto left the game at the end of the first period. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said he wouldn’t know Nieto’s status until Tuesday.

Sharks Bites

Logan Couture: “We’ve got a really good hockey team in here when guys are playing to their potential, and for long stretches or some stretches of this series, that hasn’t happened. Everyone needs to take a look at themselves and bring it in Game 7. You never know what can happen.”
Other Results - Sunday, May 08, 2016
NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay 0-4 - Game 5 - Bolts Win Series 4-1
mBen Bishop made 28 saves, and defenseman Victor Hedman scored two goals to help the Tampa Bay Lightning advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight year with a 4-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 5 of the second round at Amalie Arena on Sunday. The Lightning won the best-of-7 series 4-1. They will play the winner of the second-round series between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh leads the series 3-2 with Game 6 on Tuesday. It was Bishop’s fifth career shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; four of them have come in elimination games, including Game 5 against the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. Brian Boyle and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning. The Islanders scored one goal in the final two games of the series, and captain John Tavares was held without a point in the last four. Hedman opened the scoring with his first goal at 13:49 of the first period. He controlled a loose puck at the high slot and beat Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss with a shot through a Tyler Johnson screen. The Lightning have been without center Steven Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman the entire postseason. Boyle made it 2-0 with 1:19 left in the first with his third goal of the playoffs. Defenseman Matt Carle got the puck to Boyle in the slot from behind the net, and Boyle beat Greiss high on the stick side. Hedman scored his second goal on the power play at 4:22 of the second period to make it 3-0.

Forward Jonathan Drouin made a backhand pass off the boards, and Hedman scored on a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle. Hedman had four goals and four assists in the series. Kucherov scored on a breakaway at 4:40 of the third period to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead. Bishop wasn’t faced with the same heavy pressure as Game 5 of the first-round series against the Red Wings, but he did have to make some big saves Sunday. Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk had a shot from point-blank range in the slot in the second period that Bishop grabbed with his glove. In the third, Boychuk appeared to have an open net off a rebound of a shot by Cal Clutterbuck, but Bishop scrambled to make a pad save. Greiss made 21 saves. He was 5-6 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 11 playoff games.