Josi Ends Shootout as Predators Beat Golden Knights for Seventh Straight Win

The Nashville Predators keep finding ways to win, and on Friday night in Las Vegas they found perhaps their most dramatic one yet. Captain Roman Josi scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of a shootout, lifting Nashville to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena and stretching the Predators' winning streak to seven games.

It was a night that belonged, in turns, to three different Predators. Ryan O'Reilly scored both of Nashville's goals in regulation, including the equaliser with ten minutes left in the third period. Juuse Saros made 40 saves, a season high, to keep his team in a game in which Vegas fired 42 shots at him. And then Josi finished the job when the shootout reached its decisive moment.

The win moved Nashville to 11-4-5 and 27 points, and it tied the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes for the longest winning streak in the NHL this season. It was also Nashville's seventh comeback win of the season. The Predators had arrived in Las Vegas on a six-game winning streak, the longest active run in the league. The streak is the sixth seven-game winning run in franchise history and the first since February 17 to March 2, 2024, when the Predators won eight in a row.

Saros holds the line against a Vegas barrage

Vegas saw its four-game winning streak snapped, although the Golden Knights still collected a point for the sixth consecutive game. At 13-5-3, Vegas sits second in the Pacific Division, two points behind Edmonton.

Vegas set the tone early with volume, pouring shots on Saros, and the Finnish goaltender answered almost everything. He stopped 40 of the 42 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, and denied three of the four Vegas shooters he faced in the shootout.

Nashville struck first despite the pressure. At 7:56 of the first period, O'Reilly chipped in a Steven Stamkos pass from in front of the net to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. It was O'Reilly's 17th career goal against Vegas, breaking a tie with Anze Kopitar for the most goals any player has scored against the Golden Knights.

Vegas answered at 11:19 of the first period, when Victor Olofsson scored his sixth goal of the season off passes from Ivan Barbashev and Tomas Hertl to make it 1-1. The Golden Knights then took the lead in the second period, as Rasmus Andersson finished a move set up by Mitch Marner and Parker Wotherspoon.

From there, the game became a test of Nashville's patience. Vegas controlled long stretches of play, but Saros refused to let the gap grow. Nashville had opened this five-game Western road trip with a back-to-back in Los Angeles and Anaheim on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a third straight win was there to be taken if someone could find the tying goal.

O'Reilly answers twice as Nashville refuse to go away

That someone was O'Reilly, again. With 10 minutes remaining in the third period, the veteran centre scored his second goal of the night, converting passes from Adam Wilsby and Josi to tie the game at 2-2. It was the kind of goal that reflected the Predators' recent form: not flashy, but earned, with a finish from close range.

The goal changed the feel of the closing minutes. Vegas, which had led since the second period, suddenly had to defend a game it had been controlling. Nashville pressed for a winner, but Adin Hill held firm, finishing with 30 saves on 32 shots, and the game went to overtime. Overtime solved nothing, and the game moved to a shootout with the extra point, the streak and the road trip all riding on it.

The shootout swung back and forth. Rookie Trevor Connelly scored in the second round to put Vegas ahead, and the Golden Knights were one save away from the win. But Filip Forsberg levelled it in the third round, keeping Nashville alive and setting the stage for the finish.

Josi finishes it in the fourth round

After Saros denied Jack Eichel, the shootout came down to Josi. The Nashville captain, a defenceman rarely called upon in shootouts, snapped a wrist shot past the glove side of Hill to end it, sending the Predators out of Las Vegas with seven straight victories and a 3-0 record so far on this road trip.

The goal capped a strong personal night for Josi, whose assist on O'Reilly's tying goal lifted him to 23 points for the season. For a captain who has carried this team's play from the blue line, it was a fitting way to decide a game that had demanded something from every part of the roster.

For Vegas, the defeat was a reminder of how fine the margins are at the top. The Golden Knights outshot Nashville 42-32, led for much of the night and had a rookie score in the shootout, yet still left with only one point. Their run of collecting points now stands at six games.

For Nashville, the picture is simpler. Seven straight wins, seven comeback wins this season, a goaltender at his best, a veteran centre scoring the goals that matter and a captain finishing games in the shootout. The Predators now face the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, November 15, with the chance to extend the streak to eight and sweep the Western road trip. On the evidence of Friday night in Las Vegas, few would bet against them finding another way.