The Nashville Predators didn’t experience the storybook ending with Steven Stamkos’ emotional return to Tampa Bay, but they did come away with a valuable point in the standings in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Lightning on Monday at Amalie Arena.
Stamkos, Tampa Bay’s number one pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, spent 16 seasons with the Lightning before signing a four-year, $32 million contract with the Predators when free agency opened July 1 . leader in games played (1,082), goals (555) and points (1,137). Monday’s match marked his return to the Amalie Arena for the first time as a member of the visiting team.
For the third straight game, the Predators came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score at 2-2 in the second period. For the second straight game, Nashville’s comeback effort led to overtime; but this time they were unable to complete their comeback and had to settle for a point to bring them to 3-5-1 on the season.
How the Predators lined up against Tampa Bay
Forsberg-O’Reilly-Marchessault
Stamkos-Novak-Nyquist
Jankowski-Sissons-Evangelista
L’Heureux-McCarron-Smith
Josi Fabbro
Lauzon-Carrier
Skjei-Schenn
Saros
Corner wood
Supplements: Tomasino, Pärssinen
(The Predators announced Monday afternoon that defenseman Marc Del Gaizo has been assigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.)
Game Summary
The Lightning dictated the pace of play in the first period, and the Predators struggled to stop plays defensively. According to Natural Stat TrickHigh danger odds in the first half were 6-1 in favor of Tampa Bay.
As a result, the Lightning took an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee. After Stamkos received a video tribute during the first televised timeout of the first period, Point gathered the puck along the boards, drove to the net and got around Roman Josi to score. Then, with less than a minute left in the period, Point completed a spread pass to Chaffee, who took advantage of a defensive mistake by Nashville and buried the puck in a wide-open net to give Tampa Bay a lead 2-0 before the start of the period. first intermission.
Related: WATCH: Steven Stamkos Talks Emotional Return to Tampa Bay
After a successful offside challenge took what would have been Tampa Bay’s third unanswered goal off the board, Nashville began to show signs of life in the second period. Midway through the game, Ryan O’Reilly scored a rebound on the power play to bring the Predators within one point.
Gustav Nyquist scored in transition in the final minutes of the period, firing a quick shot past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie the score at 2-2. Stamkos contributed on both goals in his first multi-point game as a member of the Predators.
A scoreless third period gave way to the 3-on-3 overtime period, when Nick Paul scored for the Lightning at 3:22 to secure the victory with a 3-2 final.
Key takeaways
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Juuse Saros was outstanding for Nashville, stopping 24 shots and bailing out the Predators with some big saves at key moments in his first appearance since being named NHL Second Star of the Week for his outstanding performances in the Predators’ victories over the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
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The Predators won the special teams game, going 1 for 4 on the power play while managing to kill all three penalties. Nashville’s PK unit is tied with the Dallas Stars for first among all NHL teams with 93.1%.
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Nyquist has now scored in three of his last four games, scoring tying against Boston and recording a short-handed goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Following
The Predators will return home to host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop will take place at 7 p.m. CT and the game will stream exclusively on Hulu/ESPN+ in the United States.
