Chased by champs

After a strong first period in which they scored two goals in less than a minute, the San Jose Sharks went south quick and hard Saturday night in a 7-2 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers.

Even though the 34 saves represented his second-highest output of the campaign, the fact that he allowed six goals erases every single high statistical output he might have accomplished. Over his last four starts,

Guarding goal Tuesday

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play a part.

The Florida Panthers sure bounced back from their blown lead in Los Angeles in a big way on Saturday. Skating against the struggling San Jose Sharks, Florida was dominant for much of the night, eventually earning an impressive 7-2 victory.

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored in the Sharks' 7-2 loss to Panthers, who got goals from seven players in handing San Jose its sixth straight loss Saturday.

The Panthers, who have won four of their last six, erased an early one-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to coast past the host San Jose Sharks.

The Predators are likely to start Juuse Saros, who is looking for his 12th win of the season. The Sharks started former Predators prospect Yaroslav Askarov in net in Monday's 6-3 loss in Boston; they will likely will start Alexandar Georgiev on Tuesday.

Georgiev will make his third consecutive start on the current road trip. The former Avalanche netminder is 2-7-0 with a 3.51 GAA and an .890 save percentage over nine starts since his trade to San Jose on Dec.