Stamkos Scores 600th NHL Goal, Preds Beat Golden Knights to Conclude 2025

On the final day of 2025, Steven Stamkos reached rarefied air.

Stamkos became just the 22nd player in NHL history to score 600 goals, and the Nashville Predators said goodbye to the year that was with a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena. The result gives the Preds a pair of victories to close out the 2025 calendar and 10 wins in the month of December, their most in a single month since March of 2018.

Nick Perbix, Reid Schaefer and Michael Bunting also tallied in the win, and Justus Annunen made 29 saves in net, but once again, it was Stamkos who stole the show and further etched himself into the NHL record books in the process.

“Awesome to do it in a win like this with how we're going as a group,” Stamkos smiled. “That's how you envision doing something special like that. It’s really cool to have the guys come on the ice and share that moment, so, glad it happened quick in the game. That's one of those things that can linger a little bit, and I'm glad it was the next game after getting 599. And like I said, to have a goal and a win and an effort like that on the road was icing on the cake.”

“It was another gutsy win,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Didn't love the start, but we got to our game for most of the first and second period, and the third, [we've] got some things to learn there. But all in all, you take a win. This League's hard to win in and get two points.”

After Vegas took an early 2-0 lead less than halfway through the opening period, Perbix brought the Preds back to within one with a wrister from the point that beat Vegas goaltender Akira Schmid.

Then, Stamkos went to work in his office.

On the power play, from the left circle where the veteran forward has patented his one-timer over an illustrious 18 NHL seasons, Filip Forsberg found No. 91 for the milestone tally. Just as fast as the puck struck twine, the Nashville bench emptied with Stamkos’s teammates each rushing to congratulate their legendary counterpart.

“I haven't scored a ton of those [from the circle] this year, but I guess if it was going to be number 600, it was kind of like I've scored a lot of other ones,” Stamkos grinned of his 600th. “Great play by Fil, seeing-eye pass, and great to see that one go in. When I scored 500, the guys came off the bench in Tampa, so I had a feeling they might, but that's why it's even more special to do it in a game where the guys are feeling good, you're winning, and it's a goal that matters in the game. That's how you envision doing it, so I'm happy it went down that way.”

“You couldn't script it any better,” Brunette said of Stamkos. “I mean, from that spot where he’s shot so many pucks, I've been on the wrong end of a lot of those pucks, and it's fun to be on the right end of one of his goals. Just extremely happy for him. I think being part of the moment is very special, something that we're very grateful to be part of in this League, and for him to get it and where he got it from, and how he got out, that was phenomenal. And we got to win.”

Less than a minute after that, the Preds scored again with a goal originally credited to Cole Smith but later changed to Schaefer. Regardless, Nashville finished the opening 20 minutes with a 3-2 lead, and they added a fourth tally in the second stanza as Bunting tipped home a Nick Blankenburg shot on the man advantage for his 10th of the campaign.

Vegas had quite a push in the final frame, but Annunen turned aside all 18 shots he faced to help the Preds to a massive two points as they inch closer to a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

But regardless of the standings, Wednesday’s outing was quite a way to close out the year - and the Preds are eager to collect more wins as the calendar flips.

“This group is not quitting, that's for sure,” Stamkos said. “We’ve got to fix the starts. That's something that's been a little concerning. But, the group beared down, the power play was big, special teams [had a] big kill at the end as well, and another 'Juice' playing great in net. So, it's a recipe for wins, especially on the road. It's not always pretty, and it certainly wasn't in certain moments today, but you find a way, and you grind, and that's what we did.

“You want to roll into a new year with some momentum. And we have. So, proud of the guys, and we're looking forward to the next year.”

Notes:

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on New Year’s Eve with Jonathan Marchessault remaining out with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Justin Barron was a healthy scratch against Vegas.

Per NHL PR, Steven Stamkos became the third active player to score 600 goals, joining Alex Ovechkin (912) and Sidney Crosby (646).

Stamkos recorded his 325th career multi-point game, which is the sixth most among active players behind Sidney Crosby (505), Alex Ovechkin (461), Evgeni Malkin (368), Patrick Kane (361) and Connor McDavid (350).

Stamkos scored his 12th goal of December which tied Nathan MacKinnon for the second-most this month. Only Connor McDavid has more with 13.

With their six-game trip now halfway through, the Predators will now head to Seattle to face the Kraken on New Year’s Night before jetting off to the province of Alberta.