After falling into a 5-1 hole in the second period, the Nashville Predators scored five unanswered goals for a miraculous comeback victory over the St. Louis Blues, 6-5 on Monday at Bridgestone Arena. 

It ties the franchise record for the largest comeback in the game, four goals, set in a 7-5 win over the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 21, 2025, when Nashville also came back after going down 5-1. 

Steven Stamkos scored the game-tying and game-winning goal in the third period. Ryan O'Reilly scored twice. Michael McCarron and Filip Forserberg had a goal each. 

Roman Josi had four assists and Luke Evangelista had three assists.  

Here are three takeaways from the Predators' impressive comeback victory over the Blues. 

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While the Predators aren't looking to make a habit of going down early, they've been good at erasing the deficit and coming out with a win. 

Monday was the Predators' 17th comeback victory of the season, but a four-goal margin was the largest of the year.

Nashville scored five unanswered goals, highlighted by a pair from Stamkos to tie and eventually win the game. It was his ninth game-winning goal of the season. 

"If we were down three or four goals last year, it was tough to climb back into those games," Stamko said. "This year, the offense has been there. We don't like doing that, and it's not a great trend, especially at home. That was one of the best crowds I've played in front of. They were a huge part of helping us get back in that game." 

The starts have been something the team has talked about throughout the season, and they need to improve. However, the amount of "belief" that the Predators have this season has turned multi-goal deficits into an unexpected edge. 

"The one thing this team does have is belief, which I'm very proud of them for," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "They put a lot of work into having that belief, and they know they can come back. They know if we get to our game consistently, line after line, wave after wave. We're a pretty, pretty hard team to handle." 

The next step is getting to that game quicker, as Brunette said he feels like the Predators wade themselves into the game, not sure if they want to be the attacker or be the ones that hang in. 

"Obviously, we're a little bit better when we're on the attack," Brunette said. 

It was an exhausting 12-14 hours for the players, coaches, front office and even the fans. 

Prior to the rollercoaster of a game, Predators General Manager and former head coach Barry Trotz announced that he had plans to retire once his replacement was found. 

A search for his replacement has begun and the team hopes to have a new GM by the first day of the NHL Draft in June. 

Players and coaches alike were shocked by the news on what started as a routine day. That news was later followed by the Predators going down 5-1 in the second period, only to somehow come back and win.

"It was a roller coaster day for a lot of us," Brunette said. "Right away in the morning talking with Barry (Trotz), Bill (Haslam), Sean (Henry) and then the team, and then the way the game went was kind of an exhausting day. But probably fitting at the same time.

"I don't know if there have been other times here in the building where the roof was blown off, but that was probably as good as I've seen it." 

However, with everything going on, the Predators focused on compartmentalizing their emotions and on the Blues. Nashville is in the critical final stretch of games before the Olympic pause. 

"He (Trotz) was my 1st coach here," Josi said. "He kind of trusted me in my 1st couple of years with him. It's sad to see him go, but we knew we had an important game that night. This is an important week for us before the break, and it was a fun game." 

Finishing off the comeback wasn't just important for the Predators, win-wise, but also for Trotz and for making sure the day was won. 

"I'm happy that for him, we got that one," Brunette said. "Big Juice made some big saves. It could have been 7-1 there. I was feeling really sick about that. I'm glad we dug in and found a way to make Papa Barry proud." 

This week is a massive one for the Predators for multiple reasons.

It's the final games before a two-week Olympic pause, and anything the Predators do this week will set the tone for what management wants to do at the Trade Deadline on March 6. 

Additionally, the Predators are barely clinging to life in the Western Conference Wild Card playoff race. The win keeps the Predators on track to pick up eight points in their final four games before the Olympics.

They're halfway there with four points in wins over the New York Islanders and St. Louis. With 58 points, they are now three points outside of the final Wild Card spot. 

The Sharks lost to the Blackhawks, helping out the Predators a bit, but the Mammoth picked up a win over the Canucks to jump into the first Wild Card position. 

Nashville has a home matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday and a road game against the Washington Capitals on Thursday before the break. 

"We understand the situation we're in. We understand we have three big games," Stamkos said. "Going into a break, we've been playing some decent hockey on the road. Three tough places. We got points in every game, came back home, not the way we drew it up, but two more points. It's gonna be like that the rest of the year."