Lightning win in OT, spoil Stamkos' return with Predators

TAMPA -- Steven Stamkos had two assists for the Nashville Predators, but the Tampa Bay Lightning spoiled his return by recovering for a 3-2 overtime win at Amalie Arena on Monday.

Nick Paul won it at 3:22 by scoring from the low slot off a backdoor feed from Jake Guentzel.

"I saw Guentzel get [to the loose puck] first and I went to the net," Paul said. "[The ice] opened up and realized we were going to have a 2-on-1, and he made a great pass. I had an empty net. I just had to make sure I didn’t miss it."

Stamkos, who was selected by Tampa Bay with the No. 1 in the 2008 NHL Draft, played his first 16 NHL seasons with the Lightning before signing a four-year, $32 million contract ($8 million average annual value) with the Predators when free agency began ion July 1. He is Tampa Bay's all-time leader in points (1,137), goals (555), games (1,082), power-play goals (214), game-winning goals (85) and overtime goals (13).

Stamkos won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

"You see where it all began as an 18-year-old kid right here," Stamkos said. "I grew up from a boy to a man, a Stanley Cup champion, a husband, a father. ... Most of my life has been here. It's definitely emotional, but at the same time, it's a fun place for me to play hockey. You almost feel at ease being here. So, I thought that was cool as well."

Said Lightning coach Jon Cooper: "I just feel very fortunate that I was here for a decade of those years, and I got to see it live in real time and experience the ups and downs. But it does bring back fun memories. It was weird to see him standing on the blue line (during the national anthem) and not in our jersey."

Stamkos was honored with a video tribute in the first period followed by a long standing ovation from the crowd as he took a short lap around the ice.

"For me, obviously, a pretty weird night, pretty emotional," Stamkos said. "But once the tribute happened you kind of settle into the game and then you focus on what you need to do to help your team win. Just came up a little short tonight."

Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, Mitchell Chaffee also scored, and Guentzel had two assists for the Lightning (6-3-0), who have won three of their past four. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves.

Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Predators (3-5-1), who had won three in a row. Juuse Saros made 24 saves.

Point gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 9:49 of the first period when he made a move around defenseman Roman Josi and beat Saros with his backhand.

Chaffee extended it to 2-0 at 19:24, converting on a partial breakaway with a forehand to the glove side.

"We have to be more consistent over 60 minutes," Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. "We’re playing some really tough teams (on an upcoming four-game road trip). We can’t take a period off here and there, we have to be on it for 60 minutes. We have to go out there and execute our game plan."

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov appeared to score at 2:27 of the second period, but the Predators challenged the play, and the call was reversed after a video review determined the play was offside.

O'Reilly then cut it to 2-1 at 10:19 of the second period when he stuffed the puck past Vasilevskiy from in close for a power-play goal.

Nyquist tied it 2-2 at 18:40 on a shot from the slot that beat Vasilevskiy stick side.

"Obviously, it was a special night and [Stamkos] played a great game," O'Reilly said. "They outplayed us tonight, they had the puck most of the time. We did a good job of staying with it and grinding our way back in to get a point. That's what you have to do to give yourselves a chance to win. When we're defending that it's just exhausting. I know for myself it was exhausting chasing the puck, and it's hard to win like that."

NOTES: Kucherov’s season-opening eight-game point streak ended. ... Point has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past six games. ... Guentzel's assist on Paul's overtime goal was his 500th NHL point (229 goals, 271 assists in 529 games).