Sharks vs. Predators: Macklin Celebrini's Shootout Snipe Spoils Steven Stamkos' Buzzer-Beater

Steven Stamkos did his part. With the clock down to its final breath and Juuse Saros on the bench for an extra skater, the Nashville sniper tied the game with 0.8 of a second left in regulation, and Bridgestone Arena sounded like it had just won something. Then Macklin Celebrini took his turn in the shootout, curled in from the left wing, drifted toward the middle and picked the glove-side corner on Saros. Nobody else scored. Party over.

That lone shootout goal gave the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 saves, Mason Marchment and Will Smith scored in regulation, and San Jose snapped a two-game skid. Nashville has now dropped three straight, and two of those losses came in a shootout.

A Shutout Bid, Then a Buzzer-Beater

For most of the night, this looked like a tidy, professional road win. Marchment opened the scoring at 5:30 of the first period after Tyler Toffoli dug a loose puck out from behind the Nashville net and slipped a no-look feed into the slot. Marchment one-timed it home for his second goal of the season, and the Sharks spent much of the next two periods playing like a team guarding a lead in a library.

The middle frame was all whistles and no goals. Nashville's Reid Schaefer took two minors, San Jose's Igor Chernyshov took one, and neither power play could crack the opposing goalie.

Smith doubled the lead at 4:28 of the third. Michael Kesselring sent a backhand feed off the right wall, Smith carried it into the right circle and ripped a wrist shot past Saros. According to NHL.com, the helper was Kesselring's first point since San Jose acquired him from Buffalo on June 17.

That should have been plenty. Instead, Sam Dickinson went to the box for tripping Ryan O'Reilly at 8:03, and the Predators finally broke through on the power play. Jonathan Marchessault let a one-timer go from the left circle, O'Reilly was parked in front, and he chipped the rebound past Nedeljkovic at 9:05. That gave O'Reilly goals in back-to-back games and gave Nashville a pulse.

"You kind of felt the tide turning there in the last 10-12 minutes of the (third) period," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. With Saros pulled, a shot from the left side got through traffic, the puck fluttered loose, and Stamkos buried it with Filip Forsberg drawing the lone assist. Nedeljkovic admitted he never saw the initial shot. "With a 500-goal scorer in the NHL, the puck is always going to find his stick somehow," he said.

The Save That Changed Everything

Overtime was three-on-three chaos. Smith got loose for a breakaway with 3:30 to play, and Saros stuffed him. With 1:14 left, Kiefer Sherwood got his own breakaway, and Saros won that duel too. Both teams had looks to end it, and Brunette summed up that stretch bluntly. "They're coin flips when we get to that spot in the game," he said.

The real hinge came with nine seconds left. Roman Josi teed up a one-timer that looked like the clean ending to a perfect Nashville comeback, and Nedeljkovic flung himself across the crease to snag it with his glove. If that puck goes in, Stamkos is the headline and the Predators' skid is over. Instead, the night went to a shootout.

Nashville shot first, and O'Reilly clanged the crossbar. Saros stopped Ivar Stenberg, Nedeljkovic stopped Forsberg, and then Celebrini delivered. Ross Colton needed an answer and could not find one.

Nedeljkovic and Celebrini Carry San Jose

Nedeljkovic finished with 32 saves on 34 shots, a .941 save percentage, and he has won both of his starts this season. He carried a shutout until 9:05 of the third, and his teammates knew exactly who to thank. "He was unbelievable," Smith said. "He won that game for us. He was unbelievable all night."

Celebrini's winner was no accident, according to the guy who sees it daily. "He's been trying that all year in practice, I feel like," Nedeljkovic said. "It's nice to see him get rewarded."

Smith continues to treat Nashville like a personal piggy bank. Per the AP, he now has seven points, three goals and four assists, in seven career games against the Predators.

Stamkos, meanwhile, made history in a losing effort. According to NHL.com, he is the first player in NHL history with two game-tying goals in the final second of regulation. The other came in a 3-2 overtime loss at Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2025, and he now owns two of the three such goals in Predators history. Josi's assist on the O'Reilly goal also stretched his point streak against San Jose to 11 games.

Saros made 30 saves and was superb in overtime. The AP noted he is 15-2-2 in his career against San Jose, which only makes this one sting a little more for Nashville.

The Numbers Behind the Steal

• 32 of 34: Shots Nedeljkovic stopped, including Josi's one-timer with nine seconds left in overtime.
• 4: Sharks wins this season, and every one of them has come beyond regulation, per the AP.
• 1-for-4: Nashville's power play, with O'Reilly's goal the lone conversion. San Jose went 0-for-3.
• 0.8: Seconds left on the clock when Stamkos tied it.

Bonus Hockey Is San Jose's Love Language

San Jose improves to 4-3-0 with eight points and is 2-1-0 on the road. The Sharks had lost three of their previous four, per NHL.com, and they got this one without defenseman Darnell Nurse, who sat with an upper-body injury. Coach Ryan Warsofsky called Nurse day to day and sounded like a man happy to bank a result. "I thought there was some improvement in some areas," Warsofsky said. "There are still areas to work on, but we'll take the two points and move on." Next up is a Saturday night visit to Detroit.

Nashville falls to 2-2-3 with seven points and is just 1-2-1 at home. The Predators have lost four of their last five, but three of those losses went past regulation, so the standings are kinder than the vibes. Still, a team that keeps scraping out single points will eventually need to start collecting two. They host St. Louis on Saturday night.

Great Scott, Not Again

Stamkos gave Nashville a Back to the Future finish, beating the clock by a fraction of a second. Then Celebrini showed up with the sequel nobody in Tennessee asked for. The Predators keep finding ways to reach the finish line. The Sharks keep finding ways to cross it, even if they insist on taking the scenic route every single time.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.