Stamkos breaks late tie with 3rd goal of game, Predators rally to beat Senators 5-3

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos, second from right, celebrates after his goal with right wing Matthew Wood, right, and center Ryan O'Reilly (90) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Steven Stamkos broke a tie with 2:13 left with his third goal of the game and the Nashville Predators overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday night.

After Stamkos tied it at 3 with 9:53 left with his second power-play goal of the game, Ryan O’Reilly beat the Senators to the puck behind the goal line and popped it out front to Stamkos, who batted it out of the air past goalie James Reimer.

O’Reilly set up the tying goal, too, firing a cross-crease feed to Stamkos with the man advantage. Nashville got the power play when Tim Stutzle cross-checked Stamkos.

Predators captain Roman Josi, playing his 1,000th NHL game, also assisted on the tying goal. The defenseman is the 84th player in NHL history to play his first 1,000 regular-season games with one franchise.

Stamkos had his second hat trick of the season and 16th overall to push his season goals total to 24. Jonathan Marchessault also scored, and Cole Smith had an empty-netter. Juuse Saros made 23 saves to help Nashville end a three-game losing streak.

Stephen Halliday scored his first NHL goal, and Ridly Greig and Dylan Cozens added goals for Ottawa. Reimer, making his third straight start after signing with the Senators on Jan. 12, stopped 21 shots.

Ottawa closed a three-game trip. It had earned points in five straight games.

Halliday opened the scoring at 6:03 of the first period, knocking in a rebound. With David Perron out after surgery to repair a sports hernia, Halliday was recalled from Belleville of the AHL in the morning. He scored in his 19th NHL game, all this season.

Up next

Senators: Host Carolina on Saturday night to open a four-game homestand.

Predators: Host Utah on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Associated Press