The Nashville Predators rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday. After the game, Steven Stamkos revealed his thoughts on his 16th career hat trick, while discussing what the team did to overcome the Senators, according to NHL correspondent Robby Stanley.
“It was massive. You don't want to lose three straight. We've done a great job of not losing two straight. It has to mean more to our group than the other team over there, and we showed in the second half of the game that it did,” Stamkos explained.
Things did not start well for the Preds, as they fell behind 2-0 after the first period. Then, Brady Tkachuk made it 3-0 Senators at 10:46 of the second period. It was getting late in the second when Stamkos converted on a power-play goal to put the Predators on the board. Later, at 8:19 into the third period, Jonathan Marchessault scored to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Stamkos showed that he was not finished, as he converted another power-play goal to tie the game just under two minutes later. With less than two minutes left in the third, Stamkos finished the hat trick. Cole Smith finished off the win with an empty-net goal.
It was the second hat trick of the season for Stamkos, and one that the Predators needed as they attempt to stay alive in the playoff race. With the win, the Preds improved to 24-22-4, and moved to 52 points, just one behind the Seattle Kraken for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Stamkos now has 24 goals and 12 assists over 50 games this season. Notably, he now has eight points over his past seven games. Stamkos will get a chance to do more as the Predators host the Utah Mammoth, a team directly above them in the standings.
