Predators Unable to Handle Gavin McKenna, Auston Matthews, Lose 5-4 in Overtime

The Nashville Predators were on the road for the first time in the 2026-27 season, as they visited the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

The Predators got an early power play in the first period, as Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly sat for tripping Mavrik Bourque. After sustaining pressure in the offensive zone for quite a while, Steven Stamkos finally broke through to give his team a 1-0 lead. The goal also moved him up in the NHL's goal leaderboard, as he secured sole possession of 17th with the 626th of his career. 

The Predators didn't wait long to double their lead either, as 1:55 later, Nils Hoglander scored his second of the season to make it a 2-0 game less than halfway through the first period.

Matthew Wood got an assist on both of the Predators' opening goals, his first points of the season.

Shortly after Alex Kerfoot connected with Jonathan Marchessault to generate a chance on the rush for the Predators, Marchessault took down Teddy Blueger in the neutral zone with 12.4 seconds remaining in the opening period, giving Toronto their first power play of the night. 

Despite Toronto sustaining some pressure late in the penalty kill, the Predators were ultimately able to successfully keep them off the board during the man advantage. 

The Predators got their third goal of the night after a tremendous effort by Hoglander to force a turnover. Filip Forsberg failed to convert on an opportunity in front of the net, but the puck ended up back on Hoglander's stick and he put it past Anthony Stolarz to make it a 3-0 game. Mavrik Bourque picked up an assist on the goal, his first as a Predator. 

John Tavares got the Maple Leafs on the board with a shot from the faceoff dot that beat Juuse Saros, giving Gavin McKenna his first career point, an assist, in the process. Toronto's Brandon Duhaime drew a hooking penalty moments later, sending Jack Drury to the penalty box. This time, the Maple Leafs' high-powered offense took advantage, as Auston Matthews shot for a rebound that fell right onto William Nylander's stick. The Swedish winger then scored on Saros, bringing Toronto within a goal.

Luckily for Nashville, there was a TV timeout immediately after the goal which allowed Andrew Brunette's group to have a bit of a reset before play resumed. 

Stamkos scored his second of the night, his first even-strength goal of the season, at 13:30 of the second period to restore Nashville's two-goal lead. Exactly one minute later, McKenna scored his first career goal to bring Toronto back within one.

The Predators gave Toronto a chance to tie it moments later, as Ross Colton went to the penalty box for cross-checking Jake McCabe. Nashville's penalty kill came up big, as they were able to keep Toronto from finding an equalizer. 

Roughly 7:30 into the final frame, the Maple Leafs had a great chance to tie things up as Nick Paul and McKenna had a 2-on-1 rush, but Saros made a huge save to deny Paul and maintain the Preds' 4-3 lead. 

A minute and a half after Saros made that save, Toronto's efforts paid off, as Jack Roslovic scored to even things up at 4-4 nearly halfway through the final period. 

Nylander seemingly scored his second of the night, and fourth of the season, at 11:49 of the third period to give the Maple Leafs their first lead of the night. Brunette initiated a coach's challenge for offside and after a short deliberation, the goal came off the board, restoring the tie and Nashville's hope.

Saros was called upon once again with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, as he denied Kirill Marchenko. 

60 minutes wouldn't be enough to determine a winner, so the matchup went into overtime. 

Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, and Roman Josi were on the ice to start the extra frame for the Predators. Stamkos sped past the Toronto defense to get a shot on Anthony Stolarz early, but he was denied. The Predators were controlling play for quite a while, forcing Maple Leafs defenseman Darren Raddysh to stay on the ice for nearly two minutes. 

The Maple Leafs seemed almost guaranteed to get a win when they had a 3-on-0 rush, but Saros was able to beat the odds to deny a goal and the game alive for Nashville. With 14 seconds remaining in overtime, the Maple Leafs did get their game-winner though, as Auston Matthews was able to fire a shot past Saros to secure a 5-4 victory for the home team.