Predators Penalty Kill Leads Nashville to Shootout Win Over Lightning

The Nashville Predators secured a 5-4 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, anchored by an 88.9 percent penalty-killing unit that finished the first month of the season strong and preserved two points at the end of October.

Special Teams Hold the Line in Regulation

In Nashville, the Predators (5-4-5) captured their first extra time victory of the season against the Lightning (8-3-2). While Steven Stamkos delivered a power-play goal at 7:27 in the third period to tie the game, the penalty kill proved equally vital to reaching overtime.

Steven Stamkos scored the tying goal in regulation and the only goal of the shootout to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.https://t.co/v1qjcLWFr8 pic.twitter.com/tyNgh0Voql

— https://x.com/WFLA/status/2116655823141134653

Nashville successfully killed penalties in the middle of the second period and at the start of the third. The unit faced its toughest test with just over three minutes remaining in regulation after Adam Wilsby drew a delay-of-game penalty. The Predators’ penalty killers stopped the Lightning’s late power-play push to send the game past the 60-minute mark.

"Yeah, it's been great," Adam Edström said of the penalty killing unit. "Extensive video study is involved, and every player out there takes immense pride in defending shorthanded. When a penalty occurs, our responsibility is to neutralize the opposition, we hold ourselves to a high standard regarding that effort, and I felt today went exceptionally well."

Roster Depth and Goaltending Secure the Extra Point

The Predators have allowed only five power-play goals through their first 14 games of the season, tying them for the fifth-fewest in the NHL. Head coach Andrew Brunette pointed to assistant coach Derek MacKenzie’s preparation and a flexible roster structure for maintaining that efficiency.

"There is a strong link between them, our group has navigated numerous changes lately, and whoever comes into the lineup performs at a high level," Brunette said. He noted that Jayden Struble stepped onto the penalty kill despite seeing limited reps recently and performed well.

Goaltender Justus Annunen finished the night with 22 saves, including a diving stop in overtime to force a shootout. Annunen then stopped all four Tampa Bay attempts in the shootout to claim his first win in his first career shootout appearance.