There wasn't a single second when the crowd wasn't cheering at Bridgestone Arena Saturday.
The Nashville Predators kicked off the weekend doubleheader with a 4-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights March 21. It might be in consideration for biggest game of the year for the Predators as the team fired on all cylinders and managed to find themselves in a wild card spot at the end of it.
Steven Stamkos scored two goals and three points; Ryan O'Reilly tallied two points and a battle scar; and Justus Annunen stood on his head, stopping 39 shots.
"It took a while for us to get going, but sometimes you got to give another team some credit. They were hungry," Stamkos said. "They came out heavy and hard and thank god for Big Juice. We didn't waste his performance and that was kind of the story tonight where we played a lot better in the second and third. Special teams [were] a big factor."Nashville Predators YT
Nashville [32-28-9] got the party started rather quickly thanks to a one-timer from Stamkos right off the draw 40 seconds into the game. The Predators would only record three more shot attempts and allow 20 in the stanza, but Annunen's commanding presence kept things quiet for Vegas [31-25-14].
"I think his body of work from after the first couple games were a little bit not fair, you don't really get going. Then you get thrown in a couple of games. So, he kind of took a while to get going and we've seen he's been exceptional," Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "He was spot on. I think his numbers and high danger chances are off the charts for us right now. He's been solid."Nashville Predators YT
The middle frame saw the momentum switch in the Predators favor as they put up 11 shots to the Knights' 10. It also happened to be happy hour for the home team as they scored twice on the power play and even one on the penalty kill. Stamkos and O'Reilly scored their 33rd and 24th goal respectively on the man-advantage and Tyson Jost scored his seventh down a man, the first time in his career.
"We kind of pre-scouted that. Skjei made a great read and then great pass by him. It felt good to go in," Jost said. "I've liked where my game's been at. It's definitely nice to get more opportunity. I think all year I've just really liked how I've been playing and I've just kind of always doing the right things and just ready whenever I was called upon."Nashville Predators YT
THE BOYS ARE BUZZIN' pic.twitter.com/BuMkhDsIDO
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 21, 2026
It's also the first time the team scored multiple power play goals in a game since Feb. 4 against the Minnesota Wild where they scored two.
Shea Theodore would also score for Vegas in the period on the man-advantage, but it just wasn't enough to regain their early-game composure.
The Predators fought back late in the final frame facing an extra skater, but they held on as they secured their 32nd win of the season.
"Feels great to win this game. It's a good team over there," O'Reilly said. "Obviously very disappointing start. We got to find a way to get something out of the first. If it wasn't for Big Juice in there, that game could've gotten out of hand quick. There's some lessons there for sure but the feeling of winning the game, power play came up big, some big kills, some good things. We got to respond tomorrow."Nashville Predators YT
"A lot of people probably counted us out at the start of the year and I'm sure there's people at the Trade Deadline and they were like, 'Oh, well these guys don't have a chance anymore,'" Jost said. "But the young guys that came up in Milwaukee have just been outstanding and they've been doing a great job. It's fun coming to the locker room and it's fun playing games. We're not satisfied so we got to keep going."Nashville Predators YT
They'll wrap up the weekend with a midday Central Division rival match against the Chicago Blackhawks. A win against them and the Predators will have firmly secured themselves as playoff competent.
Game Notes
With his second snipe of the night, Stamkos ranks seventh all-time in power play goals with 238.
Annunen set a new season-high in saves with 39, two above his previous best of 37.
Juuse Saros is still listed as day-to-day; Brunette will reassess the starting goalie job on gameday against Chicago.