Steven Stamkos Winding Back the Clock to Start the Season

On Thursday night, Steven Stamkos scored the type of goal that people often dream of. He tied things up for the Nashville Predators with less than a second remaining in regulation, sending their game against the San Jose Sharks in overtime. 

Although the Predators ended up taking a loss in the shootout, Stamkos's goal single-handedly earned them a point which could be crucial in their playoff run five months from now.

"It's one of those games where you get a point and you're happy," Stamkos said of the game against San Jose.

It's been a decade and a half since Stamkos came close to scoring 50 goals, as he last surpassed that threshold in the 2011-12 season when he lit the lamp 60 times as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Last season, Stamkos was likely the most under-the-radar 40 goal scorer in the NHL. Many outside of Nashville likely failed to even notice that he hit that mark for the eighth time in his career, instead looking toward young stars like Macklin Celebrini, Kirill Kaprizov, and Wyatt Johnston. 

As things currently stand, Stamkos is on pace to finish just shy of 50 goals, as he's scored four times, two of which were on the power play, in the Predators' first seven games. As a result, he's currently tracking to score 48 goals with the NHL's new 84-game schedule.

While Steven Stamkos is far from the same player he was as a spry 21-year-old, he's continuing to prove that he's one of the NHL's top goal-scorers on an annual basis despite now being closer to 40 than 30.