Stamkos Records Hat Trick, Preds Complete Comeback Over Senators in Josi's 1,000th NHL Game

In Roman Josi’s 1,000th NHL game, Steven Stamkos wrote a storybook ending.

The veteran forward recorded his 16th career hat trick - and second of the season - as the Nashville Predators scored five unanswered to beat the Ottawa Senators by a 5-3 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gets the Preds back in the win column after a two-game skid in one of the more memorable outings of the season.

Jonathan Marchessault and Cole Smith also found the back of the net - and Josi added an assist on Stamkos’s game-tying tally - as the Predators dug themselves out of a hole and made sure their Captain’s milestone night was one to remember.

“It was fun,” Josi said. “Obviously, it's so nice to get a win. I think the way we won, [a] comeback win, and the crowd got into it - it was just a fun atmosphere, a fun game. And [Stamkos with a hat trick], so it was really nice.”

“Didn't look pretty at the beginning, but just a character win,” Stamkos said. “We stuck with it. Certainly not the recipe [to win games all the time]. We were on a slippery slope there. So, it's one of those games where you're really happy, especially for Roman. He means so much to this organization, to this locker room, not only as a player, but just a pillar in the community, and such a great friend off the ice. So, we wanted to do it for him. I'm glad it worked out.”

Ottawa had a 2-0 lead after one period of play, and they scored a third in the second stanza as a Dylan Couzens deflection beat Juuse Saros. But, before the frame was out, Josi and Luke Evangelista teamed up to find Stamkos in the slot, and No. 91 hammered home a power-play goal to get the Preds on the board.

And in the final frame? It was all Nashville.

Marchessault brought the home team back to within one when he finished off a 2-on-0 with Michael Bunting and beat James Reimer, and then on another power play, Ryan O’Reilly’s cross-crease pass went right to the tape of Stamkos to bury it and tie the score.

Then, with just 1:13 to play in regulation time, O’Reilly went hard on the forecheck, won the puck and fed Stamkos in front for the hat trick to send the home crowd into a frenzy and a slew of caps onto the ice.

“Stammer has been doing it this whole season,” Josi said of Stamkos’s effort. “He's scoring massive goals, and that's why he’s one of the greatest goal scorers of all time - and we're seeing it.”

Smith sealed the win with an empty-netter, and a game that didn’t start out in Nashville’s favor certainly ended up just fine after all.

“It speaks a lot about the character,” Josi said. “Even [in] the last game, it's easy to fold after being down 4-0. And we find a way to get back into it, and I think we find a way to get back to our game. That's huge that we know what we have to do to be successful. We can turn that switch, which was huge tonight.”

Had the Predators not won on Thursday, Josi’s 1,000 game milestone still would have brought a subdued honor for the captain. But to win in such a dramatic fashion on a night like this? The Preds just simply weren’t going to settle for any other outcome.

“I think the will to compete in the third period,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of what led to the win. “The will to, you could say, do it for Roman. I've been part of a lot of 1,000th games, either games that I've played, coached or been around. There's very few that come to a recollection of a game like that in this building, to come back, and for him to play a big part of it for Roman’s 1,000th game. Like I said, I've seen a lot of these, and this was about as special as they come. So, extremely happy. And you could tell the guys were ecstatic that we were able to pull it through for him. I thought Roman was outstanding tonight.”

He certainly was - and while there will be lots to remember from game No. 1,000, Josi certainly won’t be forgetting this one for a long time.

“Just the whole day is pretty special,” Josi said. “Obviously, having my family, my kids in here before the game was really cool. And then just being around the teammates, and I think just all the love you get all day, it's pretty special. I'm so grateful to be able to play here for so long. I'll remember a lot of things. There [were] a lot of cool moments today.”

Notes:

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Thursday with Tyson Jost serving as a healthy scratch and Adam Wilsby remaining day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Per NHL PR, Josi became the 23rd defenseman in NHL history to reach the milestone with one franchise. Only four other active blueliners are on that list: Drew Doughty (1,248 GP w/ LAK) Kris Letang (1,209 GP w/ PIT), Victor Hedman (1,149 GP w/ TBL) and John Carlson (1,135 GP w/ WSH).

Stamkos scored his second power-play goal of the game and passed Marcel Dionne (234) for sole possession of ninth-most in NHL history.

Stamkos recorded his 104th career multi-goal game to pass Guy Lafleur (103) and tie Michel Goulet for 23rd-most in NHL history.

Stamkos recorded a hat trick against his 14th different franchise, which is the second most among active players behind Alex Ovechkin (20).

The Predators conclude their three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when they host the Utah Mammoth for a 2:30 p.m. CT puck drop - and a special pregame ceremony to honor Josi’s 1,000th game.