SAN JOSE -- Joel Ward didn't score the most goals in the Sharks' second-round series against the Nashville Predators. He scored the prettiest goals.
Toward the end of a dominant first period by San Jose in Game 7 on Thursday, Ward scored his second goal of the series on a remarkable individual effort to give the Sharks a more comfortable two-goal lead in what ended up a 5-0 series-clinching victory. Linemate Melker Karlsson sent the puck off the glass out of the Sharks' zone that Ward chased after in the neutral zone. He chipped it past Predators' defenseman Roman Josi, skated after it, and beat goalie Pekka Rinne with 3:09 to go in the first period.