NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Nashville Predators past the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, Justin Barron and Ryan O’Reilly also scored and Justus Annunen made 19 saves for the Predators, who snapped a two-game skid.

Pavel Dorofeyev had his first career hat trick and Ilya Samsonov made 18 saves for Vegas, which has lost three of four.

Nashville raced out to a 4-0 lead and then barely held off the hard-charging Golden Knights, who controlled play the last half of the game but couldn’t tie it.

Stamkos scored the first goal at 9:44 of the opening period and connected again at 8:41 of the second on a power play. It was his first three-point game with the Predators.

Stamkos has 2 goals and an assist to lead the Predators past the Golden Knights 5-3 | iNFOnews.ca — Nashville Predators defenseman Justin Barron (20) celebrates his goal with teammates Vinnie Hinostroza (12), Roman Josi (59) and Gustav Nyquist (14) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Dorofeyev scored twice in the second, first at 9:12 and then at 14:02. He completed his hat trick with 4:41 remaining in the third to draw Vegas within a goal.

Dorofeyev’s 19 goals lead the Golden Knights. He has five goals and an assist in his last two games.

O’Reilly’s empty-netter with 1.5 seconds remaining sealed it.

Takeaways

Golden Knights: After a dreadful first period, the Golden Knights fought back before their rally fell short.

Predators: This type of offensive output was what the team envisioned when Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault were signed as free agents in the offseason. Nashville entered Tuesday averaging just 2.4 goals per game, last in the NHL.

Key moment

Barron made it 3-0 at 5:29 of the second, scoring his first goal with the Predators on a one-timer.

Key stat

Nashville fired 10 shots on goal in the first before the Golden Knights managed their only shot on Annunen, a dump in from outside the blue line off the stick of Shea Theodore with 2:35 remaining in the period.