Stamkos turns back clock with vintage 4-goal performance for Predators

NASHVILLE -- This season certainly hasn't been the easiest for Steven Stamkos, but the 35-year-old forward turned back the clock on Thursday, delivering a vintage performance by scoring four goals for the Nashville Predators in a 7-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Bridgestone Arena.

“At this stage of my career, you just fall back on the preparation that you do," Stamkos said. "Yeah, would it be nice to feel like you’re 25 every night again? Of course. But you have to put in a little different type of work and you’ve got to be the same person whether you’re scoring or you’re not scoring. That’s what I try to be. It’s nice when you get rewarded for those efforts that you put in behind the scenes.”

But Stamkos hasn't always been getting rewarded, especially at the beginning of the season, when he scored just one goal and had only two points in his first 14 games.

Stamkos admitted those struggles caused his confidence to waver.

“Listen, as an athlete, no matter where you are or what stage you are of your career, you’re always battling some tough times and confidence,” he said. “But you want to ride the highs as long as you can. The last few games I feel like the game has been trending. Our whole team has been trending. So, it’s nice when you’re helping your team win. It feels that much better."

Stamkos' game has been trending in the right direction for more than a month now. Since Nov. 4, he is third on the Predators with 13 points (11 goals, two assists) in 16 games, including eight goals in his past eight games.

On Thursday, he put Nashville ahead 1-0 at 8:22 of the first period, batting in his own rebound after his initial one-timer on a 2-on-1 was stopped by Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

He then made it 2-0 a little less than three minutes later, knocking in the rebound of Roman Josi's point shot at 11:19.

Stamkos completed the hat trick at 12:06 of the second period, a goal that pushed the lead to 5-1, before he scored his fourth on a backhand in front to make it 6-2 at 15:33.

Stamkos' fourth goal was also the 594th of his NHL career, moving him within six of becoming the 22nd player in NHL history to score 600.

“Ever since he got here, it feels like there’s all these records all the time after games,” Josi said. “... Sometimes I think you talk about milestones for each individual, but with him, we’re talking about all-time milestones all the time. It’s pretty special. It’s just fun to see him do it here. I mean, he’s done it his whole career. I don’t know, I mean, [594] goals, that’s insane. That’s an insane number. Like, that is so many goals. It’s pretty cool to be on a team with him and just be part of it.”

The Predators, though, have not had the team success that they had hoped for since Stamkos signed a four-year, $32 million contract with them on July 1, 2024, after playing his first 16 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. Nashville finished seventh in the Central Division last season (30-44-8, 68 points) and is last in the division with a 12-14-4 record this season.

However, the Predators feel like they’re starting to turn things around, having won six of their past eight games. Stamkos has played a key role during that stretch, and his approach to the game and his positive attitude while he and the team struggled is something coach Andrew Brunette said his teammates can learn and benefit from.

“The way he approached every day is actually really remarkable,” Brunette said. “I’d be lying, and I’m sure every other player would be lying, if they [said] they could handle it the same way. But he’s handled it with a positive [approach], and it hasn’t been easy for him because he’s a proud guy. He’s a Hall of Famer. But he didn’t bring anybody down and he tried to lift everybody else around him.

“So, when you see nights like tonight, it kind of touches your heart a little bit because I understand how hard that is. Our young guys are very, very, very lucky to watch that and see that and hopefully understand that so when they go through some things, how do they handle themselves? And he’s handled himself like an all-timer.”

For Stamkos and the Predators, the challenge now is sustaining this level of play and climbing back into the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“These are the games, especially at home, that you need to win if you want to make up ground,” Stamkos said. “That was the effort that we needed.”