*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
The scene was incredible, the night was perfect, now, we just need to find a winner. We found one. Brayden Point scored, Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Nashville Predators with a 3-2 win at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the first outdoor game to be played in Nashville in league history, with the stadium series serving as the first. It was new for both teams as well. It was the Predators second outdoor game, after playing in the 2020 winter classic against the Dallas Stars. It was Tampa Bay's first in history, and they were able to win it thanks to 3 points from Stamkos.
The crowd was the 7th largest in NHL history, in their 34th outdoor game since 2003. With the win, the Lightning improved to 34-11-6 on the season, sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division, and have now won 4 straight games. Nikita Kucherov's goal and assist was the only other multi point scorer for the Lightning.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of the outdoor atmosphere that "Yes, it's one of 82, but this was a little bit bigger than that. If you're trying to sell the game in a town that's really bought into hockey, no better way to do it. For me to look back on this, I'll just have warm feelings. It's icing on the cake that we pulled it out."
The only goal of the first period came from Tanner Jeannot, who gave the Predators a 1-0 lead on the power play 8:20 into the game, scoring his 18th goal of the season. In the second period, Point scored on the power play just 58 seconds into the period, and Kucherov scored at the 6:18 mark of the second, putting the Lightning ahead 2-1.
In the 3rd period, Stamkos made the Lightning lead 3-1, scoring his 26th goal of the season 11:31 into the 3rd, assisted by Alex Killorn and Cal Foote. The Predators scored a little less than a minute later, when Filip Forsberg scored on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2. That was all the Predators could muster, as Tampa held the fort from there.
Stamkos said postgame that "I hadn't had a chance to do this. I played a lot of years in this league, and I'm just proud to put that jersey on, go out there and represent our city in Tampa. It was kind of extra special to have a big game personally, but we wanted to come in here and get the win, and I was super happy with the effort we had tonight. It lived up to all the hype that you hear from some of the guys who have played in these games. You never understand it until you play in one yourself, so it's nice to say we have that experience now."
Getting the win for the Lightning in goal was Andrei Vasilevskiy, who picked up his first outdoor win. Vasilevskiy stopped 26 of 28 Nashville shots on goal, good for a ,929 save percentage in the chilly outdoors. With the win, his record improved to 28-8-4 in 40 starts this season.
Across the ice from Vasilevskiy was Nashville's Juuse Saros, who ended up with the loss. Saros had a fine night, saving 30 of the 33 shots he faced, good for a .909 save percentage. It was not enough to beat Vasilevskiy on the other end, so his record drops to 25-16-3 on the season.
Forsberg said of the outdoor experience that "It was great. It was fun. Obviously, the fans showed up for both teams. It was an awesome atmosphere. The conditions were great, too. The weather was perfect. The ice was good. Great experience overall, except for the result."
Up next, the Lightning get back in action with a Tuesday home matchup against the Senators, with Vasilevskiy lined up to start. The Predators head west to face the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, with Saros likely to start.
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