Predators vs. Sharks: The Biggest Takeaways from San Jose's Series Win

The San Jose Sharks had had enough.

They had played magnificent hockey throughout the playoffs, but they had hit a bit of a speed bump in their second-round matchup with the Nashville Predators.

The Sharks had won decisively in their three games at the SAP Center, but they had dropped all three of their games at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Two of those losses came in overtime, and one of those defeats had come in triple overtime.

The Sharks knew they had been pushed hard by the feisty Predators, but they were not about to let the series slip through their grasp.

They came through with a masterpiece in Game 7 and took the series with a 5-0 victory. Here's a look at five takeaways from the San Jose-Nashville series.

San Jose Sharks: Unstoppable Logan Couture

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When teams advance in the postseason, the win is usually accompanied by a heroic performance or two.

Enter Logan Couture, who found the Nashville Predators' defense much to his liking.

Couture scored a goal and two assists in the Game 7 clincher, and he was also magnificent throughout the series. He scored five goals and six assists, and he found a way to get open and create scoring opportunities throughout the seven games.

Couture went through a tough regular season after suffering a broken ankle in October and a thigh injury in December. However, he has been on top of his game at the most important time of the year.

He was typically modest about his performance after the seventh-game triumph.

"I don't know," Couture told NHL.com's Eric Gilmore.

"

A couple breakaways, a couple lucky bounces. Shea Weber doesn't turn many pucks over like that. Take advantage of the opportunities I was given. [Marleau] made a great shot on that one. [Thornton] scored a big goal. Guys were scoring, and I was getting some good chances.

"

Couture's ability to create and finish scoring opportunities has allowed the Sharks to get to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011.

Nashville Predators: Empty Tank in Game 7

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The Predators faltered at the worst moment in the series against the Sharks.

The Nashville Predators were the feistiest opponent to compete against the Sharks.

Nashville were hit with a 1-2 punch in the first two games of the series and were in a deep hole as they returned home for Game 3. That deficit did not bother them, however, as they rebounded with wins in Games 3 and 4, including a triple overtime victory to square the series.

After dropping Game 5 in San Jose, the Preds registered a come-from-behind OT victory in Game 6 when shifty Viktor Arvidsson whipped a backhander by San Jose goalie Martin Jones.

However, the seventh game was a disaster. The Preds were out-skate, out-shot, out-hit and out-played from start to finish.

Goalie Pekka Rinne was pulled by head coach Peter Laviolette after giving up his fifth goal in the third period, and while it was not all his fault, he did not have his best game.

All-Star defenseman Shea Weber was victimized throughout the final game. He was a step behind all night, and he was on the ice for all five San Jose goals.

After beating the Anaheim Ducks in the first round and battling the physical and athletic Sharks for six games, the Preds had nothing left in the tank for the series finale.

San Jose Sharks: Character Questions Answered Emphatically

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The San Jose Sharks are a team with a painful playoff history.

One of the words associated with this team is one that no athlete wants to hear: choke.

Go back to the 2010 and 2011 Western Conference Final, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks, respectively. They dropped a first-round series to the St. Louis Blues in 2012, and they fell to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in 2013.

Determined not to let that happen again, they jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Kings in 2014. The fourth win never came, and the Sharks joined an ignominious club because they dropped the next four games and blew the series.

It was even worse last year, as this physically gifted team didn't even make the playoffs.

So after blowing a lead in Game 6 in Nashville, it would not have been a shocker if the Sharks had found a way to fall apart in Game 7. Instead, they dominated in every area.

They had the puck non-stop in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. They added another goal in the second period to basically put the game away.

It was not just offense, as the Sharks blocked 22 shots and were credited with 31 hits. Head coach Peter DeBoer told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com that he was impressed with his team's level of play.

"We were prepared," DeBoer said. "I think it started this morning; led by our leadership and the veterans in our room. Everybody just followed. It was probably our best 20-man, team performance of the playoffs."

Nashville Predators: Wilson and Fisher Rise Up

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The Predators were quite ordinary through the first half of the season, but they rallied in the second half to earn a wild-card spot in the playoffs.

They showed plenty of desire and toughness in their first-round series against Anaheim, and there was no let-up until the seventh game against the Sharks.

In addition to the team's big names like James Neal, Roman Josi and Shea Weber, Colin Wilson and Mike Fisher rose to the occasion. Fisher, better known as country singer Carrie Underwood's husband, went to the front of the net, took tons of physical abuse and managed to score five goals. One of them came in triple overtime in Game 4, and that turned around the series.

Wilson finished the postseason as the Preds' leading scorer with five goals and eight assists. Wilson outperformed all of Nashville's superstars, and he should become one of Nashville's stars for years to come.

San Jose Sharks: Balanced Attack

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Joe Pavelski has been deadly on the power play for San Jose.

While Logan Couture was a non-stop scoring machine against the Predators, their other big guns had been producing as well.

Joe Pavelski is one of the most deadly sharpshooters in the postseason, and defensive Brent Burns excels at lugging the puck up the ice and then creating shot opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Then there's Joe Thornton, the former team captain whose reputation for postseason failures is quite noteworthy. However, Thornton has thrived as a role player for this team.

Pavelski has scored nine goals and four assists in the postseason, while Burns has scored 15 points, which is second to Couture's 17 points.

Thornton has scored three goals and eight assists in the postseason, and his pinpoint passing is the envy of nearly every other team.

In addition to those leaders, Patrick Marleau, Thomas Hertl and Joel Ward have also shown that they can make big plays at key moments.