Predators Defeat Lightning in Shootout Amid Kucherov Trade Saga
Steven Stamkos led the Nashville Predators to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning following a dramatic week involving Nikita Kucherov's trade request.
The Nashville Predators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in a shootout at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, culminating a tumultuous week for the visiting team surrounding star forward Nikita Kucherov. Despite contributing three assists for Tampa Bay in his first game since news broke of his trade request, the Lightning ultimately fell short when former captain Steven Stamkos secured the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
Reports surfaced on Friday indicating that Kucherov had informed the Lightning organization of his desire to be traded and his refusal to re-sign with the franchise. The 33-year-old forward, who is in the final season of an eight-year, $76 million contract signed in July 2018, recently became the franchise's all-time points leader. Reports also noted that the team had previously offered him a four-year extension with a $15 million annual salary, which he reportedly declined in pursuit of a $20 million yearly salary.
Despite the intense off-ice speculation, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois released a firm statement addressing the media reports. "We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning," BriseBois said in a statement posted on social media. "We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita."
The game itself was a back-and-forth affair that saw multiple lead changes. Reid Schaefer opened the scoring for Nashville at 11:14 of the first period with his first goal of the season, before John Carlson answered for Tampa Bay to tie it 1-1. The Lightning surged ahead early in the second period thanks to a goal from Jake Guentzel, but Adam Edstrom quickly responded for the Predators to knot the score once again.
Victor Hedman later gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead off a pass from Kucherov, only for Jayden Struble to tie it 3-3 before the end of the second frame. Conor Geekie put Tampa Bay back on top early in the third period, but Stamkos provided the equalizer for Nashville at 7:27 on a power play, collecting his own rebound off the post.
After a scoreless overtime period, Stamkos delivered the lone goal in the four-round shootout to lift the Predators. Goaltender Justus Annunen made 22 saves for Nashville and stopped all four Tampa Bay attempts in the shootout, helping his team snap out of a recent slump where they had lost seven of their previous nine games.
For Tampa Bay, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots. The Lightning entered the matchup holding an 8-4-1 record and third place in the Eastern Conference, while the Predators improved to 5-4-5, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference. Tampa Bay played without forward Zemgus Girgensons, who missed his second consecutive game due to a lower-body injury.