A dramatic moment from Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos sent Bridgestone Arena into a frenzy on Oct. 15.
Stamkos' desperation shot with one second left in regulation beat Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, tying the game 2-2 and securing at least one point for the Predators.
But that moment lasted only until the shootout, when Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini scored the shootout winner in a 3-2 win for San Jose.
"You get a point in a game you probably didn't expect to based on what was happening at the end of the game, but just feels like we've left some points on the table this year," Stamkos said after the game.
The loss was Nashville's third loss after regulation this season and their second shootout loss. The Predators (2-2-3, 7 points)
need all the points they can get, but Stamkos left the game wanting more.
"I'm happy we got the point, but it just felt like we need something more," he said. "We need more push from our group. We're struggling at 5-on-5 to produce.... we've got to start executing more."
In the third period, San Jose held a 2-0 lead on goals by Mason Marchment and Will Smith, then Ryan O'Reilly punched in a rebound on the power play to get Nashville within one with 10:55 left. That set up Stamkos' buzzer beater, the Predators' only goal at 5-on-5 in the game.
THE CLOCK IS ALWAYS ON STAMMERTIME pic.twitter.com/lY51amUSLb
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 16, 2026
"If we win this game in a shootout, we're coming in here, everyone's in a good mood, what a comeback," Stamkos said. "It just feels like a few games this year we should have come out with two points, we've come out with one."
Next up, Nashville hosts the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 17 (7 p.m. CT, The Spot Nashville 28).
Predators' Andrew Brunette explains surprising shootout decision
Entering this season, the Predators were 7-2 in their last nine shootout results while relying on a three-man rotation of Stamkos, O'Reilly, and Filip Forsberg.
But coach Andrew Brunette changed it up against the Sharks. After Forsberg and O'Reilly missed on their chances, and the Predators needing a goal to match Celebrini's successful attempt, he replaced Stamkos with forward Ross Colton. Colton missed, clinching the win for San Jose.
After the game, Brunette explained the decision.
"We looked at it numbers-wise," he said. "(Colton's) had success. I think he's a different type of shooter. (Stamkos), the last stretch of (shootout) games hasn't been able to get one. We thought we'd throw something different at them just to kind of give it a different look.
Colton does have impressive career success rate in shootouts at 45% (5-for-11), though his last successful shootout goal was in 2023, when he was still with Tampa. Stamkos, whose career shootout success rate is 32% (23-for-70) last scored in the shootout on Jan. 16, 2025 against Chicago and has gone scoreless in his last seven attempts.
"Unfortunately, it didn't work. But we believe in the numbers, and we believe we saw an opportunity to maybe catch them off guard," Brunette said.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Steven Stamkos says Predators 'need more' after buzzer beater saves point vs Sharks
