NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators squandered a three-goal lead and lost 5-4 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first road game of the 2026-27 season. The Predators sit 1-1-1 and are in fifth place in the Central Division with three points after three games.
Nashville’s loss in Toronto looked eirely similar to the Predators’ preseason loss to Carolina on the road, where the the Predators squandered a four-goal advantage to lose 6-5 against the Hurricanes. Let’s take a look at some Nashville players that stood out, and players that missed the mark in the loss.
Nashville Predators Stock Up
Steven Stamkos: Stamkos has started his 19th NHL season on fire, scoring three goals in three games. Stamkos got Nashville on the board by cashing in a first-period rebound. He scored his second three minutes into the second period, giving Nashville a 3-0 lead. Stamkos is now in sole possession of 17th place in career goals scored, with 627 career goals. His offensive firepower set the tone in the last two Nashville games as he continues to be a goal-scoring force in the NHL.
Nils Höglander: Höglander has already surpassed his goal tally from a season ago by scoring two goals against the Maple Leafs. He’s up to three goals on the year and looks like Nashville’s most dangerous newcomer. He’s skating on a line with Filip Forsberg and Matthew Wood and tallied two hits and a takeaway defensively to go with his goals, making the 25-year-old one of the early bright spots of the 2026-27 season.
Juuse Saros: Saros kept Nashville in the game throughout the matchup. He stopped 32 shots on the evening, including a three-on-zero opportunity for the Maple Leafs in overtime. Toronto capitalized on 20 Nashville giveaways and poor Predators defensive positioning, but Saros stood tall as the visitors tried to cling to their lead.
Nashville Predators Stock Down
Predators Porous Defense: Nashville gave up four goals in the final two periods and a fifth in overtime to walk away from Tuesday night’s matchup with just a point. The Predators let John Tavares skate freely into the zone and snipe Saros for the first, then gave up a rebound goal to William Nylander, who stood alone in the slot for the second. A Predators defensive zone turnover led to Gavin McKenna’s first career goal after the rookie skated into a soft spot in Nashville’s defense, and Jack Roslovic tied it at 4-4 after sneaking behind the visitor’s defense. Auston Matthews scored the winner with 14 seconds left to play in overtime as the former first overall pick was left unmarked on a rebound.
The Predators are still working out the blue line pairings and opted for a second straight game of seven defensemen in the lineup. Nashville held the Dallas Stars to one goal on Saturday, but clearly has more work to do defensively.
Face off Woes: The Predators were beaten badly on the draw against the Maple Leafs as Nashville only won 19-of-53 (35.8%) face offs on Tuesday. Making matters worse, the Predators only mustered six faceoff wins in their own defensive zone. Losing draws throughout the evening put the Predators on defense consistently, allowing the Maple Leafs to dig back into the game and ultimately win.
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