Predators’ special teams swing momentum in 4-2 win over Golden Knights on December 31, 2025

Special teams define the turning points in Nashville’s road win in Las Vegas

The Nashville Predators closed 2025 with a 4-2 road victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 31, 2025, using special-teams execution to erase an early deficit and control the game’s defining stretches. Nashville scored twice on the power play and killed off key Vegas opportunities after falling behind 2-0 in the opening minutes.

Vegas built its first-period lead on a power-play goal from captain Mark Stone at 5:35, followed by an even-strength goal from defenseman Ben Hutton to make it 2-0 before the midpoint of the period. Nashville responded with three goals in a span of just over five minutes late in the first, flipping the game’s momentum and the scoreboard.

First-period swing: Nashville’s power play changes the game state

Nashville’s rally began with Nick Perbix scoring to cut the margin to one, before Steven Stamkos tied the game with a power-play goal at 15:37. The goal was the 600th of Stamkos’ NHL career. Less than a minute later, Reid Schaefer scored to give Nashville a 3-2 lead heading into intermission, completing the three-goal response after Vegas’ early surge.

• Vegas opened the scoring on the power play and led 2-0 early.
• Nashville’s equalizer came on the power play, part of a three-goal first-period run.
• The Predators took their first lead before the end of the first and did not relinquish it.

Second period: extended Nashville advantage leads to decisive goal

The game’s final goal came on special teams. In the second period, Nashville earned an extended power-play sequence following a series of penalties assessed to Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar. After Vegas killed the initial portion, Michael Bunting scored a power-play goal at 11:52 to extend Nashville’s lead to 4-2. The Predators’ ability to convert on the later segment of that advantage proved decisive in a two-goal game.

Nashville finished with two power-play goals in the win, matching the emphasis of the night: special-teams production directly shaped the lead changes and the final margin.

Goaltending and game flow: Nashville protects the lead

Nashville goaltender Justus Annunen stopped 29 shots, helping the Predators absorb Vegas’ late push. Despite a shot-volume advantage in the third period for the Golden Knights, Nashville did not allow a comeback goal and managed the closing minutes with its lead intact.

For Nashville, the result marked a road win that combined timely special-teams scoring with steady defensive closing work after the early two-goal deficit—an outcome shaped less by sustained five-on-five dominance than by execution in the game’s most leverage-heavy situations.