Stamkos Ties Game With One Second to Play; Preds Ultimately Fall to Sharks in Shootout

Steven Stamkos tied the game with less than one second to play in regulation time, but the Nashville Predators ultimately fell to the San Jose Sharks by a 3-2 final in a shootout on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. 

The result sees the Preds battle back to earn a point in the standings in a game that could have gone either way, especially with Juuse Saros keeping Nashville in it until the very end. 

“It's one of those games where you get a point, you're happy, you had some really quality looks in overtime, both goalies made tremendous saves and it could have went either way… I'm happy we got the point, but it just felt like there needs to be more push from our group,” Stamkos said. “We're struggling 5-on-5 to produce… It’s just we have to start executing more… [Special teams] came through at the end of the game when we needed it, which was great, but kind of felt like should have been more tonight.”

“We're a resilient group,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “You kind of felt the tide turning the last 10-12 minutes of the period, and we're hoping for one last look, and we got one. And ‘Stammer’ does ‘Stammer’ things, and it was a big goal. It would have been nice to put the game away.”

San Jose took a 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the contest when Mason Marchment beat Saros off a one-timer in front, and that score held into the final period before the visitors added another for a two-goal advantage. 

But, on a power play midway through the frame, Ryan O’Reilly jammed rebound home before a dramatic finish. The Preds continued to push, and with just 0.8 seconds left on the clock, Stamkos collected a loose puck in the slot and wired home his fourth of the season to force overtime.

In the extra session, Alex Kerfoot hit the post, and Saros made a number of saves, but neither team was able to capitalize. In the shootout, San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini was the lone goal scorer to give the Sharks the extra point. 

“Honestly, I'm mostly disappointed for ‘Juice,’ Preds defenseman Nic Hauge said of Saros. “How good was he, right? He really came up huge multiple times, and we just couldn't find a way to get one more for him. So, I thought it was great that we battled until the end. A huge goal at the end, but we want to do better than that.”

The Preds knew they had to be better on the defensive side of the puck on Thursday against a skilled Sharks team, and they showed improvement in that regard. However, they were still left wanting more in the offensive zone, especially in a game that was there for the taking. 

“You give up two goals, you get a chance to win, and I don't think we're giving up a ton early on, it's just we're not getting a lot either,” Stamkos said. “When you're in these tight games, it goes both ways. If we win this game and the shootout, we're coming in here [and] everyone's in a good mood… It just feels like [in] a few games this year where we should have come out with two points, we come out with one. But hopefully we'll try to figure out a way to get some more chances 5-on-5.”

Nashville’s next opportunity to do just that comes Saturday night when they host St. Louis to conclude their three-game homestand, and the Preds will focus on leaving the disappointment of Thursday’s game behind as they look to get back in the win column. 

“I think we're very well aware of where we want to be and how we want to begin the year, so I think we're putting a little bit [of] added pressure on ourselves,” Brunette said. “For sure there’s disappointment, but we just pick ourselves up and go back to work. You stacked a point out of it, and you build to the next game. Still some things we got to clean up, especially moving pucks up the ice. I still don't think we're quite where we need to be - it's a work in progress.”

Notes: 

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Preds reassigned goaltender Matt Murray to Milwaukee and activated netminder Justus Annunen off Injured Reserve. Annunen backed up Saros against the Sharks. 

Preds forward Mavrik Bourque remained out with an upper-body injury; defensemen Jack Ahcan and Ilya Lyubushkin were scratched. 

Per NHL Stats, Roman Josi assisted on Nashville’s first goal to reach 786 career points. He needs one to tie Borje Salming (787) for the fifth most among defensemen born outside North America in NHL history.

Steven Stamkos accounts for two of the franchise’s three game-tying goals in the final second of regulation (also Nov. 4, 2025). The other was scored by Mikael Granlund (Feb. 27, 2020).

Stamkos (also Nov. 4, 2025) became the first player in NHL history with two game-tying goals in the final second of regulation.

Nashville’s three-game homestand concludes on Saturday night when the Preds host the St. Louis Blues.