NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As the Sharks and Predators entered the third overtime period, only one thing was certain. Whichever team lost, the mental letdown was going to be heavier than the heaviest pickup truck cruising Broadway in front of all the honky-tonks here in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Sharks lost."We knew this wasn't going to be easy," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said.And that was at Thursday morning's warm-up skate, long before DeBoer's team faced the host Predators several hours later.At that point, things only got harder. And harder still after the 4-3 loss to the Predators at the end of a game full of tense chances, multiple lead changes, world class goalie play and frustration.