Predators score 3 goals in 3rd period to rally past Blackhawks

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators scored three goals in the third period to rally for a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Matthew Wood, Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos scored in the third period for the Predators (27-24-7), who had lost their previous two (0-1-1). Justus Annunen made 21 saves.

“It was great to get a win,” O’Reilly said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game by us, but we found a way and that’s huge. We’re in this race and we need the points. You want to come out and get a big win, and we stuck with it.”

Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Blackhawks (22-27-9), who are 1-5-2 in their past eight games. Spencer Knight made 22 saves.

“We’ve got to find a way to win the game,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s part of this process of growing. You’re on the road, you get the lead and then you end up killing a penalty. You’ve got to find a way to kill the penalty. It’s 2-2, and then we let the third one in there. We’ve got to find a way to win that game.”

Filip Forsberg gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 13:50 of the first period on a wrist shot from the left circle after a giveaway from Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov.

Bedard scored for the Blackhawks to make it 1-1 at 4:13 of the second period on a wrist shot from the left circle after receiving a backhand pass from Ryan Greene.

“I thought [Greene and Andre Burakovsky] were unreal tonight, like they have been all year,” Bedard said. “They made the game real easy for me. I think they set me up for five, six Grade-A’s and it’s on me to put maybe one more of those in and maybe it’s a different game. They made the game really easy for me tonight, and I thought we had some chances and we can build on that.”

Bertuzzi gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead at 3:16 of the third period. Teuvo Teravainen took a shot from the point that hit Bertuzzi in front of the net, and he collected the rebound and beat Annunen on the blocker side.

“I think we all felt pretty good about where we were there, especially when [Bertuzzi] gets that goal,” Bedard said. “We’ve got to manage it a little better and figure out how to close it out.”

Wood scored for the Predators to tie the game 2-2 at 7:12 on a wrist shot from the right circle on the power play on a pass from Erik Haula.

“Huge goal for [Wood],” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “He went down [to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League] and played a little bit, and I thought he had a leg up all week. I thought he had a great week of practice. He’s going to be a really important piece here. I love the projection that he’s on right now, and it was nice to see him get a goal.”

O'Reilly gave the Predators a 3-2 lead at 16:44 on a redirection of a pass to the slot from Roman Josi that beat Knight through the five-hole.

“Brilliant play by [Josi],” O’Reilly said. “Obviously we want to play fast, and he leads the charge that way by countering quick and going. I just tried to go to the net, and he makes an unbelievable pass. I just got lucky it kind of ticked in, but that was definitely a huge play by him.”

Stamkos added an empty-net goal at 19:12 for the 4-2 final and the 611th goal of his career. He moved into sole possession of 19th place on the NHL’s all-time goals list, passing Bobby Hull (610).

NOTES: Bedard finished with five shots on goal in 21:29 of ice time. … Predators defenseman Brady Skjei did not play in the second period but returned for the third. He finished with 17:17 of ice time. … Predators goaltender Juuse Saros served as the backup after he arrived in Nashville on Wednesday from winning a bronze medal with Team Finland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. … Forsberg reached 25 goals in a season for the ninth time in his career, the second-most by a Sweden-born player in NHL history, behind Mats Sundin (15).