The Dallas Stars scored three goals in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and defeat the Nashville Predators 5-4 at Bridgestone Arena on November 8, 2025. The victory improved the Stars to 8-4-3, while the Predators fell to 5-8-4 and extended their losing streak to four games. Key contributions came from multiple Stars goal-scorers in a frantic final frame.
Game Recap
The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators traded leads throughout a back-and-forth contest at Bridgestone Arena. Dallas struck first when Mavrik Bourque redirected a pass from Miro Heiskanen at 6:26 of the first period for his second goal of the season, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Nashville responded late in the frame as Luke Evangelista wristed a shot from the high slot at 17:46 to tie it 1-1, beating a screened Jake Oettinger.
In the second period, Roope Hintz restored Dallas's advantage just 13 seconds in on a power-play goal, splitting the defense and beating Justus Annunen through the five-hole for his third tally. The Predators answered quickly: Nicolas Hague tied it at 2-2 at 4:43 with a wrist shot from the point, then Filip Forsberg converted a pass from Ryan O'Reilly 27 seconds later at 5:10 for his seventh goal, putting Nashville ahead 3-2.
The third period decided the game. Justin Hryckowian evened it at 3-3 at 2:20 by lifting his own rebound into an open net for his second goal. Steven Stamkos put the Predators back in front 4-3 at 5:11 on a power-play one-timer. But Dallas surged: Adam Erne tied it at 4-4 at 9:33 off a backhand pass from Colin Blackwell, and Sam Steel scored the winner 47 seconds later at 10:20 on a one-timer from Wyatt Johnston. Oettinger made 17 saves for the Stars, while Annunen stopped 17 for Nashville.
Post-Game Reactions
Predators captain Steven Stamkos reflected on the narrow defeat: "It's just the games that we play well defensively, we can't seem to get that extra goal to put us over the hump. Tonight, we score four and give up five, so it's about trying to balance that out, but it's obviously frustrating."
Head coach Andrew Brunette added: "It's a little frustrating tonight. We fell asleep on the two goals. We're in a good spot. Stammer, his unbelievable shot for a power-play goal gives us a spot. Then we [had] two major breakdowns. It's hard to overcome."
Nicolas Hague noted: "We weren't good enough from the start. Just too many costly mistakes and they compound now and came back to bite us today."
Notes and Next
The Predators announced forward Zach L'Heureux will miss 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. Nick Blankenburg extended his point streak to five games. Nashville heads to New York to face the Rangers on Monday before the NHL Global Series in Sweden against Pittsburgh. The Stars host the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.