Ilya Mikheyev and Conor Geekie Spoil Predators' Night as Lightning Open Preseason 2-1
Ilya Mikheyev scored 93 seconds in and Conor Geekie added the winner as the Tampa Bay Lightning opened preseason with a 2-1 win over Nashville on Sept. 20.
TAMPA, Fla. — Preseason hockey is supposed to be foggy: new lines, half-lineups, goalies shaking off summer rust. The Tampa Bay Lightning opened theirs with something sharper — a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Sept. 20 at Benchmark International Arena that looked a lot like a dress rehearsal for Opening Night.
Ilya Mikheyev scored 93 seconds in. Conor Geekie buried the winner late in the first. Andrei Vasilevskiy handled the full 60 with 12 saves. And Jon Cooper, never one to hand out empty compliments, basically shrugged at the idea of finding holes: everybody asked to do a job, everybody passed the test.
Hockey is back in Tampa. The Bolts made sure it arrived with a lead they never surrendered.
Mikheyev Announces Himself Immediately
The offseason script already had Mikheyev's name in bold — four-year deal, July 1 signing, ticketed for minutes with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. He validated the highlighter on the first shift of the preseason. John Carlson, the other big 2026 free-agent addition, walked a point shot toward the net. Mikheyev tipped it home 1:33 into the game.
"When you score, the team scores in the first few shifts, it's good for confidence as a team and helps you feel confidence right away," Mikheyev said after the win. That is the entire preseason value proposition in one sentence: early confidence, early chemistry, early proof that the new toys fit.
Carlson, paired with JJ Moser on the top duo, led Tampa Bay in ice time at 21:56. If you were looking for a thumbnail of how seriously the Lightning took this opener, start there — veterans logging real minutes, new defenseman running the show, Vasilevskiy in for the full night instead of a split.
Nashville Answers, Geekie Replies
Brady Martin pulled the Predators even in the seventh minute, making a move at the blue line and finishing from the bottom of the circle. For a moment, the preseason chaos script threatened to take over: early lead, early answer, long night of mixed lines ahead.
Then the kids took the wheel. Sam O'Reilly centered Benjamin Rautiainen and Conor Geekie, and that trio spent an extended offensive-zone shift creating the kind of pressure that forces bad decisions. O'Reilly got a stick on a risky Nashville pass. The puck landed on Geekie in the high slot. The 22-year-old beat Juuse Saros through the glove for a 2-1 lead with under five minutes left in the first.
"I just saw the puck go up there, tracked back hard, tried to go stick on puck, and I got a stick on it," O'Reilly said. "Then thankfully Geeks was right there and made no mistake."
That is development hockey with NHL consequences. Geekie's finish is the highlight. O'Reilly's detail work is why Cooper kept smiling.
Special Teams, Kids, and Cooper's Checklist
Tampa Bay killed all six Predators power plays. Mikheyev led Lightning forwards in shorthanded time (3:57). O'Reilly was right behind him (3:35) and won six of eight faceoffs, including the right-side draws Cooper specifically flagged afterward. In a shorter camp with fewer exhibition games, those PK looks are not throwaways — they are auditions.
Recent second-rounders Ethan Czata and Oleg Kulebiakin also got in, part of Cooper's stated plan to put kids in real situations and see who excels. The veterans set the tone. The prospects got the reps. Everybody left healthy, which Cooper treated as a win inside the win.
Vasilevskiy was not under siege — 12 saves on 13 shots — but playing the full game in the opener matters for rhythm. Saros, opposite him, got the kind of work Nashville wanted even in a loss. Preseason is mutual film. Tampa just happened to own the scoreboard.
What It Means (With the Asterisk)
It is one September night. Nobody is etching banners. But context matters: shorter camp, fewer preseason games, roster already looking Opening Night-adjacent. Mikheyev with Point and Kucherov clicking early is the story Tampa wants. Carlson logging 22 minutes without drama is the story the blue line wants. Geekie and O'Reilly producing in a winning environment is the story the prospect pipeline wants.
Nashville will get another crack Tuesday in Game 2 of this home-and-home at 8 p.m. ET. The Predators showed enough punch with Martin's goal to keep the film useful. The Lightning showed enough structure to make the 2-1 look intentional rather than lucky.
Cooper's three-star energy lived in his quotes more than a formal ballot, but the night's hierarchy was obvious: Mikheyev for the opener, Geekie for the winner, O'Reilly for the two-way glue. Benjamin Pierce's official three stars for TampaBayLightning.com ran the same way.
The Close
Preseason openers can be noise. This one had a point. New winger tips one in the first minute. Prospect finishes the winner. Superstar goalie eats the full night. Perfect PK. Healthy handshake line. The Lightning opened 2026-27 exhibition play the way a contender prefers — early lead, answered push, no late panic, and a coach who could not find much to complain about.
Tuesday in Nashville is the next sample size. Sunday in Tampa was the statement that camp is not theoretical anymore. With fewer preseason games on the calendar, every look at the Mikheyev-Point-Kucherov line, every Carlson-Moser shift, and every O'Reilly PK draw is compressed evaluation. Geekie's glove-side finish will get the social clips; O'Reilly's detail and faceoff wins are why the Lightning can trust younger forwards in real minutes.
