NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Scott Hartnell scored two goals to help the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Thursday night.

It was the first game between the two teams since the Sharks knocked the Predators out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season.

San Jose’s Mark Bell added to the league-leading power play of the Sharks with the first goal of the game at 11:21 as he put the puck in from close in front of the net.

Nashville answered less than a minute later as rookie Alexander Radulov scored his first NHL goal on a wrist shot that beat San Jose goaltender Vesa Toskala on his stick side from the inside the right circle.

The Predators took a 2-1 lead on Hartnell’s tip-in.

Paul Kariya gave Nashville a 3-1 lead at 17:52 of the second period, scoring as he slid on his knees in front of the net.

Milan Michalek trimmed the lead to 3-2 a little over a minute later.

The Sharks then tied the game in the third period with their second power-play goal of the game. Joe Thornton took a shot from the right side, but the puck was stopped by Nashville goaltender Tomas Vokoun. The puck remained loose in front of the net before Patrick Marleau put it past Vokoun.

Hartnell scored the game-winner at 17:31. After skating down the right side of the ice and taking a shot, Hartnell followed up and fired the rebound from behind the goal, hitting San Jose’s Scott Hannan and deflecting the puck into the net.

Notes: Kimmo Timonen played in his 502nd game as a Predator, tying for the team lead in all-time games played for the franchise. … Toskala ended a 12-game win streak, the longest in the franchise history of the Sharks. … Marleau and Michalek both scored for San Jose, keeping them tied for the team-lead with 12 points each. Nashville’s Martin Erat had one assist to extend his points streak to four straight games.

AP-ES-10-26-06 2247EDT

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