Stars score twice in final 15 seconds, stun Predators

NASHVILLE -- The Dallas Stars scored two goals in the final 15 seconds of the third period in a 3-2 comeback win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Craig Smith scored with 15 seconds remaining to tie it 2-2 on a rebound in the slot with goalie Scott Wedgewood pulled for an extra attacker. It was the first point in 16 games for Smith, who played nine seasons with Nashville from 2011-20.

"I think first and foremost, we've got to get the puck in, and we've got to keep it in and try to create a little bit of pressure in some areas," Smith said. "We've just got to break down. It was kind of a scramble. Stayed hungry on it, we got a nice bounce out front and I was able to get a good stick on it."

Jani Hakanpää then scored with four seconds remaining on a shot from the point that got through traffic and past Juuse Saros for the 3-2 final.

Evgenii Dadonov scored, and Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves for the Stars (20-8-4), who extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1).

"We didn't have our best tonight for the first 40 minutes, but we found a way to get it done," Dallas forward Matt Duchene said. "I thought in the third period we were the better team. We kind of turned the game. [Saros] is such a good goalie, you need some decent bounces to get it. Luckily we got one there to tie it up, and then [Hakanpaa] with a [slap shot]."

Michael McCarron and Colton Sissons scored for the Predators (19-15-0). Saros made 31 saves.

Nashville has lost two of its past three games after going 13-3-0 in its previous 16.

"I thought we had too many passengers tonight for whatever reason, which is a little bit disappointing," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "The more you talk about it, sometimes I wonder the less they listen. So, that was disappointing."

McCarron gave Nashville a 1-0 lead 23 seconds into the second period. Ryan McDonagh took the initial shot from the point, which bounced off of McCarron.

Sissons gave the Predators a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:33 on a wrist shot from the slot. He took a pass from Gustav Nyquist, got to the rebound of his initial shot and beat Wedgewood on the blocker side.

"We definitely wanted to play more in the [offensive] zone," Sissons said. "It's kind of easy for teams that are down and really pushing to play a little bit riskier and really aggressive. They kind of took it to us that way a little bit. There's definitely some lessons to learn. We've been in a lot of tight games on the other side of things. We'll take our medicine here and move on."

Dadonov cut it to 2-1 at 8:22 of the third on a wrist shot from the right circle.

"We talked at the end of the second period and we felt that there were still points to be had here tonight if we could play a good 20 minutes," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "Give [the Predators] credit; they defended hard. They blocked a ton of shots. Their goalie was great. We had some frustration creeping in the second period. We kind of reset and came out in the third and gave ourselves a chance."

Duchene played against the Predators for the first time since they bought out the final three seasons of his eight-year contract on June 30. He signed a one-year contract with Dallas the next day.

Duchene had two shots on goal and was plus-2 in 19:03 of ice time. He had 197 points (84 goals, 113 assists) in 249 regular-season games with Nashville. …

"Everybody knows what this city means to me," Duchene said. "Everyone knows what being a Pred meant to me … still means to me, being able to play in this city. Walking into my house last night, it still very much feels like home. It was a great experience … and then the best part, getting a win."

NOTES: It was the fifth multigoal comeback win of the season for the Stars, which is the most in the NHL. … Predators forward Cole Smith had a five-game point streak end (one goal, four assists). … The Predators blocked 27 shots, including a game-high four by Sissons.