Steven Stamkos reached a historic milestone by scoring the 600th goal of his NHL career, helping the Nashville Predators surge past the Vegas Golden Knights for a 4-2 victory in a New Year’s Eve matinee on Wednesday.
Nashville erased an early two-goal deficit by scoring three unanswered goals in a five-minute span, turning the game in its favor. Stamkos’ milestone tally — his 18th goal of the season — sparked the comeback and tied the game. It was also his ninth career goal against Vegas since the Golden Knights joined the league in 2017.
Nick Perbix, Reid Schaefer, and Michael Bunting also found the net for the Predators, while Justus Annunen turned aside 29 shots. Former Golden Knight Erik Haula chipped in with his 200th career assist on Bunting’s goal.
The victory marked Nashville’s 12th win in its last 17 games and the third win in the first four contests of a season-long seven-game road trip. At 18-17-4, the Predators climbed above .500 for the first time since mid-October.
Vegas continued to struggle, dropping its sixth game in seven outings and finishing a four-game homestand with a 1-2-1 record. Mark Stone, who earlier in the day was named to Canada’s Olympic roster, scored his 10th goal of the season, and Ben Hutton added another for the Golden Knights. Akira Schmid made 15 saves before Vegas pulled him late for an extra attacker.
Stone was joined on Canada’s roster by teammates Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore, all of whom previously represented their country at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
Up Next
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Predators: Visit Seattle on Thursday.
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Golden Knights: Travel to St. Louis on Friday.
