On a day full of emotion, the Predators finished it off by bringing the house down.
Steven Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly both tallied twice, and Roman Josi added four assists as Nashville staged just the second four-goal comeback in franchise history to beat the St. Louis Blues by a 6-5 final on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena.
The day that began with the team learning of General Manager Barry Trotz’s plan to retire - and the subsequent surprise and shock that accompanied that news - still included another massive game for the Preds.
And, somehow, after trailing 5-1, they found a way.
“It's fun, right?” Preds Captain Roman Josi grinned postgame. “Obviously, our first half was not good at all, but we came back and won… Those games don't come around too often. The crowd was electric. It was fun to be part of, so I think we can just enjoy this one right now.”
“It was kind of an exhausting day, but probably fitting at the same time,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “There's been other times here that the roof was blown off, but that was probably as good as I've seen [the crowd] in recent memory. Kudos to them for hanging in. I'm glad we gave them something to cheer about as the game went on.”
After the Blues got the game’s first goal, O’Reilly evened things up with a power-play tally he redirected through the legs of Joel Hofer for a 1-1 draw.
St. Louis regained the lead before the opening period was out, and then the visitors added three more goals in the opening four minutes of the second stanza to take a 5-1 lead that spelled the end of the night for Juuse Saros in the Nashville net. But then, as Justus Annunen took over, the Preds began to chip away.
After Michael McCarron tipped in a shot to make it 5-2, Filip Forsberg sniped home his 23rd of the season to bring plenty of life back into the building.
Then, just 2:02 into the final frame, O’Reilly knocked in his second of the night, and moments after a classic standing ovation that lasted throughout a TV timeout, Stamkos wrapped around the cage and banked a puck off a defender’s skate and over the line to tie the game and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
“We don't like [going down by multiple goals]...and it’s not a great trend to have, especially at home in front of what I thought was one of the best crowds I've played in front of,” Stamkos said. “They were a huge part of helping us get back in that game.”
Stamkos wasn’t done, however, and just over three minutes after he evened the score, he put the Preds ahead for good with his 27th of the season and the only lead his team needed on a wild night.
“There's a lot of emotion today,” O’Reilly said. “It was an interesting morning, obviously. And then that game, probably one of the worst first halves of the game we played. We left [Saros] out to dry, but [Annunen] came in, made some huge saves for us, and we tilted the ice. It's a big win, but definitely an unacceptable first half by us. But, proud of the way we stuck with it. Everyone was working. We tilted the ice. It was wave after wave. That's a huge regulation win for us.”
Indeed it was, and it encapsulated a day that won’t soon be forgotten in franchise history. Yes, there was plenty to take in with the news from Trotz, but the team on the ice still had a job to do.
And while the effort was far from perfect, the Predators still collected two more points in the standings once the final horn sounded - just what Trotz and the rest of his team was hoping for.
“Maybe it's a little bit fitting that's kind of the way the day ended for him, and I'm happy that for him, we got that win,” Brunette said of Trotz. “I was feeling sick on the bench. [Annunen] made some big saves. It could have been 7-1 there [in the second period]. I was feeling really sick about that. So, I'm glad we dug in and found a way to make Papa Barry proud.”
Notes:
The Preds dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Monday with Ozzy Wiesblatt serving as the lone healthy scratch.
Per NHL PR, Roman Josi recorded his fourth career four-assist game, which matched the most by an active defenseman (also Victor Hedman, Morgan Rielly and Quinn Hughes).
Steven Stamkos scored the 122nd game-tying goal of his career and tied Jarome Iginla (122) for the ninth-most in NHL history. Alex Ovechkin (152), Wayne Gretzky (139), Dave Andreychuk (137), Joe Sakic (132), Jaromir Jagr (129) Brett Hull (128), Gordie Howe (126) and Teemu Selanne (123) are the only players with more.
Stamkos scored his 608th and 609th career goals and surpassed Dino Ciccarelli (608) for 20th on the NHL all-time goals list.
The Predators and Lightning combined for the third instance in NHL history of a team recording a four-goal comeback win in consecutive days, following March 23-24, 2024 and Feb. 22-23, 1972.
The Predators marked the fourth four-goal comeback win of 2025-26, tied with 1986-87 and 1984-85 for the fourth-most at this stage of a season (884 GP), behind only 2019-20 (5), 1985-86 (5) and 1983-84 (5).
Stamkos became the 11th player in NHL history to score 100 game-winning goals. The only active players with as many are Alex Ovechkin (140) and Sidney Crosby (101).
Just two games remain before the Olympic break with the Preds set to host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday before facing the Capitals in Washington on Thursday.
