Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg each tallied twice, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Anaheim Ducks by a 5-4 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees the Preds fall in their season finale to finish with 86 points on the campaign.
Preds rookie Cole O’Hara made his NHL debut in the loss and skated on Nashville’s first line alongside Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly, and he picked up his first career point on a night that didn’t ultimately go the home team’s way.
“I think tonight was more just going out there and giving it everything that we had,” Stamkos said. “Obviously, the result didn't really mean much, but…everyone plays for something. We talked about that before the game, and obviously with [O’Hara] over there, big first game, first point, pretty amazing to watch and be part of. Obviously, Fil, couple goals, 40, that's nice. We talked about playing for each other. And obviously some guys on the lineup, young guys get a chance. And I thought the effort was there. Kind of the story of how the season went with a really weird penalty at the end, but for the most part, the effort was there and that's something to be proud of.”
“I mean, I think it was a fun hockey game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think [it was] entertaining to get some goals. Showed some of our youth that organizationally that’s on its way. Too bad with the ending, unfortunately, because I thought it was a game you'd like to see keep going the way it was played. And proud of the group. I think we competed hard, we played hard. I thought we left it out there for the fans that stood behind us all year. We weren't perfect, made some young mistakes out there, but that's what's coming, and I think it's an exciting time for the organization.”
After Anaheim took a 1-0 lead, it was O’Hara who found Stamkos to get the rookie his first NHL point on the veteran’s 41st of the season.
“Honestly, really special,” O’Hara said of the experience. “Playing with [O’Reilly] and Stamkos, that’s a really cool experience and something I'll remember for a long time. That was nice.”
Forsberg scored a power-play goal before the first frame was out, and after the Ducks tied it, they took a 3-2 lead early in the second stanza.
But after Forsberg hit the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career to even the score, Stamkos tallied on the power play to give Nashville a 4-3 lead through 40 minutes.
In the final frame, however, the Ducks scored twice, including on the power play to take a 5-4 lead with less than three minutes left in regulation. The Preds had a late push, but that was as close they came as their 27th season concluded in front of their home crowd.
While they fell short of their ultimate goal, the Predators still found reason to keep their heads high with the offseason having arrived sooner than anyone would have hoped.
“Every time you go on the ice, you want to do the best individually and collectively as a team,” Stamkos said. “You try to win at the end of the day. We're fiercely competitive people, so it’s never fun losing. Regardless of how the season went, you want to end on a good note. We weren't able to do that, but it wasn't for lack of effort. As long as you can wake up and look at yourself in the mirror, then you look to the left and right, the guys sitting with you in the room that was there with you all year, and we can do that. So, like I said, you don't always get the results that you want, but this group never gave up, and that's something to be proud of.”
“I think this group, again, regardless, continues to grow the culture,” Brunette said. “I thought we did a really good job of one, having an identity, but to me, it was more of the culture piece that I think we really grew. And it's a credit to those guys. We talked about it, for hanging in there early, for staying by, bought in, for never giving up, for growing that resilient attitude that they've had all year. So, for them, going forward is something they’ve got to build on to take them to the next step… The culture that they've created here right now, they should be pretty proud of what they did. Obviously, it hurts right now. It's going to hurt for a couple of weeks and then reconvene, regroup and go forward.”
Notes:
O’Hara finished with one assist and 11:23 of ice time in his NHL debut.
Preds Captain Roman Josi, defenseman Nic Hague and forwards Erik Haula, Jonathan Marchessault and Aiden Fink were scratched in the finale. Fink, who signed his entry-level contract on Monday, did not dress due to immigration.
Per NHL PR, Filip Forsberg joined Steven Stamkos at the 40-goal mark – the second time Nashville had two players hit it in a season, following Matt Duchene (43) and Forsberg (42) in 2021-22.
Forsberg notched his third career 40-goal season and tied Kent Nilsson, Mats Sundin, Markus Naslund and William Nylander for the most by a Swedish player in NHL history.
Stamkos collected his sixth multi-goal game of 2025-26, which is tied for the fifth most in a season by a Predators player.
Stamkos (2-0—2) and Forsberg (2-0—2) combined to mark the eighth time in Predators history that multiple players had multiple goals through two periods of play. The last instance occurred on April 13, 2024 between Roman Josi and Thomas Novak.
The Predators finished with 38 wins and 86 points to conclude the 2025-26 season.
