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San Jose Sharks' head coach Ron Wilson wanted to win game three on the ice after being blamed by Nashville Predators' head coach Barry Trotz for being the aggressive one in the series' first two games. That's exactly what the Sharks did Monday night after dominating offensively in their 3-1 victory against the Predators, taking a 2-1 series lead.

Sharks outshot the Predators 41-20 with forward Mike Grier leading the pack with seven shots total on net. The Sharks held the puck in the Predators' end for the majority of the night and won many of the 1-on-1 loose puck battles.

"We worked hard out there," said Sharks forward Steve Bernier, who returned in the lineup after being injured with a hit from behind in game two.  "We played our roles, got the puck deep and did a good job grinding the puck."

Despite the dominating play throughout the game, the Sharks came out of behind in the first period when defenseman Ryan Suter knocked in his first playoff goal past Sharks' goaltender Evgeni Nabokov midway in the first period. "We got a little sloppy in our end," defenseman Kyle McLaren said.  "They got a goal off of one of our turnovers, but we tightened up and came back."

The Sharks came alive in the second period, scoring two even-strength goals courtesy of forwards Milan Michalek and Ryane Clowe.

For the third time in the series, the Sharks had the two-man advantage but were unable to convert.  The league's best powerplay unit ended the night 0-6 on the powerplay "We kept going out there," defenseman Matt Carle said.  "It's easy to get frustrated, but we stayed positive and got some goals five on five."

Even with the Sharks' lack of success on the powerplay, the Predators' parade to the penalty box during the second period kept their top forwards off the ice and unable to score.

"When you're killing penalties against a good powerplay like San Jose's got, it's difficult to get anything going," Trotz  said. If the Sharks hope to continue to have success in the playoffs, however, they are going to need to get back to the basics on their powerplay by getting guys in front of the net and taking shots when the opportunity presents itself.

"There's going to come a point when we figure out that playing ugly on the powerplay like some of our 5-on-5 play, which has been effective, is the way to go," Wilson said.  "We keep trying to make the perfect play, and you can't get away with that in the playoffs."

The Sharks hope to take a 3 - 1 series lead Wednesday when they host the Predators for game four at 7 p.m.

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