Stamkos Ties It With Less Than a Second Left, but Sharks Edge Predators 3-2 in Shootout

Steven Stamkos needed less than one second. The Nashville captain's tying goal with under a second remaining in regulation rescued the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night — but San Jose had the last word, with Macklin Celebrini scoring the shootout winner to lift the Sharks to a 3-2 victory. The Sharks built their lead through 40 minutes. Mason Marchment converted a slick Tyler Toffoli feed in the first period, and Will Smith wired a wrist shot past Juuse Saros to make it 2-0 early in the third. Nashville's power play finally answered when Ryan O'Reilly knocked home a rebound, and Stamkos capped the frantic comeback at the buzzer to force overtime at 2-2. Neither side found a winner in the extra period. In the shootout, the Predators came up empty on all three attempts — O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Ross Colton all denied — while Celebrini delivered the decisive strike for San Jose. Saros made 30 saves in the loss. The game also featured the season's first fight for Nashville, a lengthy early tilt between Nic Hague and Zack Ostapchuk that brought the home crowd to its feet. The Predators (2-2-3, 7 points) host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, while the Sharks (4-3-0, 8 points) travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings.