NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Steven Stamkos got the better of the franchise he captained for years on Saturday, tying the game late in regulation and then delivering the lone shootout goal as the Nashville Predators slipped past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 at Bridgestone Arena.
Tampa Bay held a lead four separate times. Each time, Nashville found an answer. Reid Schaefer opened the scoring on a 2-on-1, Adam Edstrom pulled the Predators even 27 seconds after the Lightning went ahead early in the second period, and Jayden Struble made it 3-3 before the second intermission.
The Lightning moved in front once more in the third. Stamkos then cashed in his own rebound on a power play at 7:27 to send the game to overtime, which settled nothing.
In the four-round tiebreaker, Stamkos beat Andrei Vasilevskiy on his backhand. Goalie Justus Annunen, facing the first shootout of his career, turned away all four Tampa Bay shooters after making 22 saves through regulation and overtime.
The win was the first beyond regulation in six chances this season for Nashville, now 5-4-5. The Predators had dropped two straight and seven of their previous nine. Filip Forsberg and Nick Perbix added two assists apiece.
Nikita Kucherov set up three Tampa Bay goals in his first game since word surfaced Friday that he had asked to be traded. General manager Julien BriseBois answered with a team statement saying the club has no plans to deal the reigning Hart Trophy winner, who is in the last year of his contract.
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