The Nashville Predators desperately needed a result like what transpired against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden on Nov. 14.
Down 1-0 late in the third period, it looked like Nashville would suffer its sixth straight loss. The Predators could not solve the Penguins’ well-structured defense, and even when they did, goaltender Arturs Silovs was stopping everything. It felt agonizingly familiar for Nashville, who have struggled to score goals all season.
But then, with 1:10 left in regulation, hometown star Filip Forsberg changed the game.
With the Predators’ net empty, Forsberg found a loose puck off a face-off in the Penguins’ zone. In the tightest of spaces, he pulled to his backhand and lifted the puck over Silovs’ right shoulder, tying the game.
Then, moments later in overtime, Steven Stamkos did the rest. Taking a stretch pass from Brady Skjei, Stamkos sped down the right side, ending the game with a picture-perfect wrist shot over Silovs.
Amid the pageantry of the NHL’s Global Series in Stockholm, the Predators know how much they need to reignite the light of their rapidly fading season.
“We’re in a position where we need wins,” Stamkos told reporters at Avicii Arena after the game. “You circle this trip on the calendar at the beginning of the year and you hope that we’re in a little better position. We’ve decided to use this as something that can spark the season.”
STAMMER IS YOUR @ENERGIZER OT WINNER!!! 🌟🌟 #NHLGlobalSeriespic.twitter.com/w791qZyxtF
— NHL (@NHL) November 14, 2025
Nashville (6-9-4, 16 points) is a long way from getting back into the Central Division race. But perhaps getting a dramatic win on a unique stage can plot a new path for the Predators moving forward.
“It’s been the story all year,” Stamkos said. “We’ve played certain games really well and haven’t gotten rewarded. Sometimes it’s not easy, but you’ve got to continue to grind. In some of those games, you’re letting the frustration get to you a little bit, then they score the next one instead of us. But we stuck with it, and it took til the end. Obviously, (Forsberg) with a huge goal in his home country, couldn’t have scripted that any better.”
Forsberg scoring to tie the game was certainly dramatic, but the game nearly had an even more unbelievable conclusion.
In overtime, seconds before Stamkos scored to end it, Forsberg broke into the Penguins’ zone untouched with the puck. He put full force into a low wrist shot, but the puck glanced off Silovs’ left pad and went into the corner.
“That overtime breakaway, that would have been too much,” Forsberg joked after the game.
Next up, Nashville and Pittsburgh (9-6-3, 21 points) face-off again on Nov. 16 (8 a.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators say OT win in Sweden could ‘spark’ fading season
