Before the game, more than 19,000 spectators who gathered at Amalie Arena stood up to give a standing ovation to Steven Stamkos, former captain of the Lightning and who twice won the Stanley Cup with the Florida franchise. After 16 seasons with Tampa Bay, the forward signed with the Predators as a free agent during the summer prior to this 2024-25 campaign.
Once the action started, the Lightning took the lead at 9:49 of the first period thanks to Brayden Point‘s sixth goal of the tournament. Subsequently, the locals increased the difference at 19:24 of the same fraction, when on this occasion Point served a perfect pass for Mitchell Chaffee, who in the one-on-one beat rival goalkeeper Juuse Saros and made it 2-0. slate, reaching three goals so far this season.
The Predators’ response came at 10:19 of the second period, when three Stanley Cup champions combined to capitalize on a Power Play sequence. Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault were in charge of setting up the play for Ryan O’Reilly, who made the score 2-1 with his third goal of the season. Later, at 18:40 of the same period, Stamkos added his second assist by delivering the puck to Gustav Nyquist, who tied the game with his third score of the campaign.
Thanks to 14 saves by Andrei Vasilevskiy (35 total) in the Lightning net, and another 10 by Saros (24) in the Predators’ goal, the third period ended goalless. In this way, the stage was set for Nicholas Paul, who with his goal in overtime gave Tampa Bay its third victory in its last four games. On the other hand, and despite the defeat, having forced extra time allowed Nashville to reach four games in a row adding points.
The three stars
- Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets: Although his team suffered its first defeat of the campaign, the forward shone with four points, thanks to two goals and a couple of assists that allowed him to reach nine consecutive games adding points.
- John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs: Thanks to a goal in each period, the player recorded the 12th Hat-Trick of his career, tying Connor McDavid, captain of the Edmonton Oilers, for the seventh most among active players.
