RECAP: Blackhawks Earn Point, Fall in OT to Predators

NASHVILLE – Steven Stamkos completed his 14th NHL hat trick at 2:39 of overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Stamkos scored the game-winner on a one-timer from the left face-off circle off a pass from Fedor Svechkov. Stamkos passed Mike Bossy for 23rd in NHL history with 576 goals.

“I think when you hit whatever that round number is, it’s pretty cool,” Stamkos said. “But it's truly hard to fully embrace it while you’re in the middle of it. I think that’s something that you gear toward. It motivates you a little bit.

“But I think when it’s all said and done, those are the moments where when that day comes and you stop playing hockey and you look back on it and you share those memories with your family, with your friends, all the people that have helped you achieve any milestone as a player, I think that’s when it kind of hits home the most.”

Justus Annunen made 17 saves for the Predators (24-32-7), who have won three consecutive games.

“It was an unbelievable performance from [Stamkos],” Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “And that’s why he’s a special player. We came here and he was doing it the past 16 years and he’s still doing it. It’s all in his honor, and we’re definitely lucky to have him. I know how it is sometimes. You get through adversity and you just stick with it. Goal-scorers will always be goal-scorers.”

Alex Vlasic and Ilya Mikheyev scored for the Blackhawks (20-35-9), who have points in five straight games (3-0-2). Arvid Soderblom made 38 saves.

“It was a tough loss, but at least we got a point,” Soderblom said. “I think we had some good periods in the game where we played solid and then periods where we had some stuff we need to clean up. For myself, I felt like a played a pretty solid game.”

Vlasic gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 1:56 of the second period on a wrist shot from the point that deflected in off Predators forward Ryan O'Reilly.

“I think they kind of jumped on us in the first,” Vlasic said. “I don’t know what the shots were, but it definitely wasn’t pretty. I think they just kind of came with a little bit more jam. I think we kind of found a way to stick to it, and on a back-to-back sometimes it’s not going to be a pretty game. We gave ourselves a fighting chance.”

Stamkos tied it 1-1 at 2:36 with a wrist shot from the left circle on the power play.

He then gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 12:20 of the second period with a one-timer from the slot of a backhanded pass from O’Reilly below the goal line.

“We all want to feel good about ourselves, whether that’s first and foremost collecting wins and gearing toward something,” Stamkos said. “Trying to create that culture, that atmosphere. It’s been a tough year. It is what it is. We just go through the trade deadline and you lose teammates, you lose really good friends. I mean one of my best friends in [Winnipeg Jets defenseman Luke Schenn], and it’s tough. It’s not a position you want to be in. Certainly not one that we expected to be in, so you can use that as motivation too.”

Mikheyev scored for the Blackhawks to tie it 2-2 at 12:22 of the third period on a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Ryan Donato behind the net.

NOTES: Forward Joe Veleno made his debut with the Blackhawks after being traded from the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. He skated on a line with Patrick Maroon and Lukas Reichel and finished with one shot on goal in 13:07 of ice time. … Forward Jakub Vrana and defenseman Jordan Oesterle made their debuts with the Predators after being claimed off waivers by Nashville on Thursday. Vrana finished with two shots on goal in 12:12 of ice time. Oesterle finished with one shot on goal in 16:27 of ice time.