Getting a head start on updating his personal highlight reel for the 2022-23 campaign, Eetu Luostarinen opened the scoring for the Panthers with an exceptional effort on the penalty kill. Barreling down on the net on a 2-on-1 rush, the Finnish forward flashed some stellar skill when he completed a between-the-legs pass to himself before lifting a shot over Connor Ingram's blocker into the top of the twine to make it 1-0 with 43 seconds left in the first period.
"That was nice," said Barkov, who assisted on the goal. "He's a special player. He has the skill to create those types of goals. He's a lot of fun to watch. I'm glad I can see that every day."
Extending the lead in the second period, Kai Schwindt, an undrafted camp invite, made it 2-0 when he turned and fired a long shot towards Nashville's net that trickled past Ingram at 3:41.
"I honestly wasn't going into the game thinking I was going to put one in, but it definitely feels good," said Schwindt, a product of the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads. "The puck just kind of went up in the air. I grabbed it and tried to throw something on net, and it snuck through. I'm happy to put that one in. It definitely feels good."
Pushing back, the Predators got on the board barely a minute after Schwindt's goal when Juuso Parssinen slipped behind the defense and beat Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway to make it 2-1 at 4:42. Benefitting from a bit of luck, the Predators then pulled even when Roland McKeown's shot from a sharp angle deflected off a defender's stick and into the net to make it 2-2 at 11:45.
Just around the midway point of the period, both goaltenders got a breather. Mack Guzda took over for Bobrovsky in Florida's crease, while Devin Cooley relieved Ingram in Nashville's net.
Appearing in his first NHL exhibition, Guzda was born and raised in nearby Knoxville, Tennessee.
"I think my whole family's here," said Guzda, who stopped 12 of 13 shots to pick up the win against the Predators. "I've got a lot of people to go see after the game. It was a really cool moment, growing up going to games here and then getting back in here to play this game."
Breaking the deadlock 2:11 into the third period, Santtu Kinnunen fired a pass off the boards from the blue line onto the stick of Ryan Lomberg, who then scored short-side to make it 3-2.
Finding the back of the net by way of a deflection for a second time, the Predators made it 3-3 when Ryan Johansen re-directed a quick shot from Nino Niederreiter past Guzda at 14:45.
Once the game eventually got to overtime, Barkov carried the puck up the left side of the ice before attempting to set up Carter Verhaeghe with a centering feed. Instead, the would-be pass clipped off a defender's stick and sailed past Cooley right before the final horn to give the Panthers a dramatic 4-3 win.
"I just tried to hit [Verhaeghe], and I guess it just went in," Barkov said.
Puck drop for Game 2 of the doubleheader is schedule for 8 p.m. ET.
