After a pair of comeback thrillers, Panthers set to face Mammoth
The Nashville Predators have lost two of three going into their home game against the Utah Mammoth on Saturday afternoon, but that win was something to savor.
The Predators rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit for a 5-3 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Thursday night to snap their two-game losing streak.
Steven Stamkos recorded a hat trick in captain and defenseman Roman Josi's 1,000th game.
"It was massive," said Stamkos, who broke a 3-3 tie with 1:13 left. "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."
Nashville has won four of its last six as it tries to remain in the playoff picture.
Jonathan Marchessault also scored in his third game back after missing 14 contests with a lower-body injury.
"I've definitely been grinding and trying to get healthy and trying to push through," Marchessault said. "Today was probably the game that I felt just a little better on my feet. I'm trying to get a little bit more physical, and I'm trying to make the right plays at the right time. But it's been tough to get healthy this year."
Ryan O'Reilly had three assists.
Stamkos has 24 goals and 36 points in 50 games for the season and six goals and two assists in his last six games. The hat trick was the 16th of his career, which is third among active players. Alex Ovechkin has 33, and David Pastrnak has 19.
The Mammoth have won seven of their last eight (7-0-1).
Utah trailed the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 early in the third period Wednesday night before rallying for a 5-4 overtime conquest.
"We stuck with it," said Clayton Keller, who tied it 4-4 with 35 seconds left in regulation and got the overtime winner. "We obviously knew that we weren't playing great, and there were a lot of mistakes and just dumb mistakes, really. We just kept fighting. So many guys made key plays, making saves."
His tying goal was the first 6-on-5 score in two seasons for the franchise, since it relocated to Utah, and the latest game-tying goal. Keller also has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in his last seven games.
JJ Peterka, Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton also scored for the Mammoth, and Nick Schmaltz had two assists. Karel Vejmelka made 25 saves.
"I liked the way we turned things around in the second period," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. "There's things we didn't like about the game; it's obvious if you watch the game. But I would like to focus a lot on the positives. ... The key goals, the comeback, the grit we showed in the second period. We had a good push."
Saturday's contest is the beginning of a four-game road trip after Utah went 6-0-1 during a homestand.
Keller's 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 50 games lead the Mammoth, with Schmaltz's 46 (18 goals, 28 assists) in 50 games second. Guenther is the team leader with 23 goals.