NHL

Nashville Predators at Tampa Bay Lightning

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Paul scores in OT, Lightning beat Predators 3-2 in Stamkos' return to Tampa

Steven Stamkos receives emotional tribute in return to Tampa

Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, and Mitchell Chaffee also scored to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves.

Stamkos, who played his first 16 NHL seasons with the Lightning before signing with Nashville on July 1, received a standing ovation after being honored with a video tribute in the first period. His assist on Ryan O’Reilly’s power-play goal midway through the second period was his first with the Predators, and he got his second by setting up Gustav Nyquist’s game-tying goal at 18:40.

But Paul won it by beating Juuse Saros after the Predators had dominated overtime.

Saros stopped 24 shots for Nashville.

Takeaways Predators: Nashville allowed the first two goals for the third consecutive game but lost this one after winning the first two.

Lightning: Tampa Bay, which had the NHL’s best power play last season at 28.6 percent, was 0 for 3 and fell to 5 for 31 (16.1 percent) overall and 0 for 14 at home.

Key moment The Lightning appeared to take a 3-0 lead 2:27 into the second period when Nikita Kucherov beat Saros. But the goal was waved off because Kucherov was deemed offside entering the zone. Nashville dominated the remainder of the period and scored twice to tie it.

Key stat The Predators killed all three Lightning power plays and have allowed just two goals on 29 opposition man-advantages this season.

Up Next The Predators host Edmonton on Thursday night, and the Lightning visit Colorado on Wednesday to begin a four-game trip.

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Regular Season Series

TB leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 9:49 Brayden Point Goal (6) Backhand, assists: Jake Guentzel (6)
Goal 1st Period 19:24 Mitchell Chaffee Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Brayden Point (3)
Goal 2nd Period 10:19 Ryan O'Reilly Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Jonathan Marchessault (4), Steven Stamkos (1)
Goal 2nd Period 18:40 Gustav Nyquist Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Steven Stamkos (2), Brady Skjei (4)
Goal 4th Period 3:22 Nick Paul Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Jake Guentzel (7)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
21 Blocked Shots 13
33 Hits 13
1 Takeaways 1
37 Shots 27
1 Power Play Goals 0
4 Power Play Opportunities 3
25.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
32 Faceoffs Won 32
50.0 Faceoff Win Percent 50.0
13 Giveaways 11
3 Total Penalties 4
6 Penalty Minutes 8

Game Information

Amalie Arena

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 16 3 32 0
Minnesota 12 3 27 3
Dallas 12 6 24 0
Colorado 10 9 20 0
Utah 7 8 17 3
St. Louis 8 11 17 1
Nashville 6 11 15 3
Chicago 6 12 13 1

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 12 6 26 2
Florida 12 6 25 1
Tampa Bay 10 6 21 1
Buffalo 9 9 19 1
Boston 8 9 19 3
Ottawa 8 9 17 1
Detroit 7 9 16 2
Montreal 7 10 16 2
Full Standings