After falling behind early, the Nashville Predators scored four unanswered goals to sail past the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2, on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena. 

Among the comeback efforts, Steven Stamkos scored off a one-time shot on the power play for his 600th career goal. He joins Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby as the only three active NHL players with 600 career goals. 

On the season, Stamkos has 26 points (18 goals, eight assists) in 39 games. In the month of December, Stamkos has 14 points (11 goals, five assists) in 16 games. 

Nick Perbix netted his third goal of the season to get the Predators on the board, 2-1. Stamkos' one-time shot tied the game. Reid Schaefer gave Nashville their first lead of the game, tipping in a shot from Brady Skjei. 

Michael Bunting tipped in a shot from Nick Blankenburg on the power play to add insurance. It was Bunting's 10th of the year. 

Justus Annunen picked up his third win of the season and second straight, making 29 saves on 31 shots. 

With the win, Nashville moves to fourth place in the Central Division with 40 points and continues to chase down the San Jose Sharks for the final Wild Card spot, who defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shootout and now have 43 points. 

The Predators have a quick turnaround, facing the Kraken in Seattle on Thursday at 9 p.m. CST. 

As the calendar year 2025 comes to a close, the Buffalo Sabres are riding high on a nine-game win streak as they were set to take on the Dallas Stars in Dallas for a New Year's Eve game. But regardless of how that game turns out, the Sabres have given new GM Jarmo Kekalainen quite the conundrum – does he use Buffalo’s trade assets to bulk up and push for a playoff spot, or does he focus on the long-term and find a way to get better beyond this season?

We think the answer to that question is crystal clear: If we were running the Sabres, we’d be looking to get over the hump this season and end the Sabres’ Stanley Cup playoff drought at 14 years. 

While it does make sense to trade with the long haul in mind, Buffalo desperately needs the psychological boost that a playoff appearance would bring to the franchise and its long-suffering fan base. And given that Kekalainen will have approximately $8.73-million to play with by this year’s March 6 trade deadline, he’ll be wasting it if he holds onto it or spends it on a longer-term asset.

Brace Yourselves, Sabres Fans: One Way Or Another, 2026 Will Be A Fascinating, Feast-Or-Famine Year For BuffaloPlayoffs or bust: The Buffalo Sabres face a stark 2026 – either they make a thrilling, successful Stanley Cup playoff push, or they continue a decade-and-a-half-long playoff drought and management blows up their roster. It's going to make for compelling Sabres hockey.

Now, maybe there’s a way Kekalainen can address both his team’s short-and-long-term needs via trades this season. But if there’s going to be a priority for Buffalo, it has to be on the here and now. Kekalainen needs to send a message to his players, and that message has to be that they need to seize the day and rise further up the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division standings. 

As it stands at the moment, the Sabres are just one standings point behind the back-to-back Cup-champion Florida Panthers, and Buffalo has one game in hand on Florida. Imagine what it would mean for the Sabres to be the team that pushed the Panthers out of a playoff position. That alone would make Buffalo fans giddy with glee. 

But now imagine the other side of that competitive coin – imagine the crushing blow that would come if the Sabres finished one or two points out of a post-season spot. It would be another devastating chapter for a franchise that has had far too many of them.

Here's Why Sabres' Next Stretch Could Decide Whether Buffalo Makes Or Misses The Playoffs The Buffalo Sabres' Stanley Cup playoff hopes hinge on a brutal upcoming schedule. Can they survive facing top NHL contenders after their current winning streak ends?

Sabres fans may differ with our perspective, and that’s OK. There’s a case to be made that this organization has to focus on where it will be a year or two from now. But we think Kekalainen has to prioritize this season, because right now, there’s no question this Buffalo team is in dire need of something tangibly positive. And Sabres supporters aren’t going to get that if their team falls short of the playoffs. 

In 2026, the goal for Buffalo couldn’t be clearer. It’s playoffs-or-bust for the Sabres, and Kekalainen has to do everything in his power to get them to hockey’s biggest tournament this spring.

LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights lost for the sixth time in seven games when they squandered a first-period 2-0 lead and lost to the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Wednesday.

The Golden Knights dropped to 4-2-0 all-time when playing on New Year's Eve.

Vegas captain Mark Stone opened the scoring for the Knights when he notched his 10th goal of the season during a power play early in the first period.

The goal was seemingly fitting hours after he was named to Canada’s Olympicroster, along with teammates Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore.

Ben Hutton made it 2-0 less than four minutes later, swinging momentum in full favor of the Knights.

The Predators weren't intimidated in the least, however, as they scored three unanswered goals and never looked back, adding a fourth goal in the second period to provide the final margin.

During the Knights' latest skid, they're allowing the league's sixth-highest 3.83 goals per game, having given up 29 goals in the six games.

"We can evaluate that any way you want," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Is it the goalie not fighting to find the puck, or we're not getting in the shooting lanes or not boxing out? There's usually a product of those things. So that's what's happening.

"We're not giving up."

KEY MOMENT

With Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar in the penalty box for an extended period of time after being called for cross-checking and roughing, Michael Bunting's goal at the 11:52 mark gave Nashville its 4-2 lead and seemingly drained the fight from the Knights.

"Kolesar gets involved with one of their guys and their benches ... that's an automatic penalty when you're in a scrum from the bench," Cassidy said. "So I think they blew that call, to be perfectly honest. They get a power-play goal out of it."

KEY STAT

298 - Defenseman Brayden McNabb played in his 298th straight game, the 13th longest active ironman streak in the NHL, dating back to March 30, 2022. That streak is now in jeopardy, however, after McNabb was involved in an unfortunate - and violent - neutral zone collision with Nashville's Michael Bunting in the second period. McNabb was down for a while, but upon getting to his feet, he went straight down the tunnel and didn't return.

"Talk about things that altered the game, that particular instance and what happened transpired after us, very disappointed in how we ended up on the wrong end of that on a blatant interference on Nabber," said Cassidy, who offered no details on McNabb's injury other than that it's upper body.

WHAT A KNIGHT

Paval Dorofeyev finished with two assists and now has at least one point in eight of the last 10 games. Dorofeyev, who has 10 points in the last 10 games (4 goals, 6 assists), ranks sixth on the team with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists).

UP NEXT: The Golden Knights open a three-game homestand that will drop the puck on 2026, with a game against the St. Louis Blues.

PHOTO CAPTION: Nashville Predators defenseman Brady Skjei (76) clears the puck away from Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) during the third period at T-Mobile Arena.

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The Hockey News - Ottawa continues to look back on some of the biggest Senators news of the calendar year.  This brings us to the fourth and final part of our review of the Sens in 2025, October to December.

October

Tkachuk Sidelined Again as Injuries Pile Up

2025 was an injury-prone season for Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk missed 10 games back in the spring with a lower-body injury, first getting nicked up at the Four Nations Faceoff while playing for Team USA. Then, to start the 2025–26 season, he played just three games before injuring his thumb on a hit from behind against the Nashville Predators. Tkachuk missed the next 20 games, and while he was sidelined, the Senators went 11-5-4.

Yakemchuk Begins Pro Career in Belleville

Senators 2024 seventh-overall selection defenseman Carter Yakemchuk once again fell short in his bid to make the NHL roster and began his professional career in the American Hockey League with Belleville. As was the case during his junior regular season, Yakemchuk did not put up the same preseason point totals as the year before. While players like Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh, and Zeev Buium , all drafted after Yakemchuk, have already appeared in NHL games, the Senators are remaining patient as he continues to work on his all-around game.

Staios Adds Muscle After Physical Preseason Loss

The Senators began October by pulling off a trade that appeared to be a reaction to a preseason game in Montreal, where the Canadiens won handily both on the scoreboard and physically. General manager Steve Staios responded by acquiring a legitimate NHL heavyweight, trading Zach MacEwen to the New Jersey Devils for Kurtis MacDermid.

Waiver Loss: Sabrango Claimed by Florida

With Tyler Kleven injured to start the season, Donovan Sebrango played some early games, including one against the Florida Panthers. When Kleven returned to health and the Sens attempted to send Sebrango down to Belleville, the Panthers, having just seen him play, claimed Sebrango, and he has since appeared in 10 games for the two-time Stanley Cup champions.

November

Pinto Secures Long-Term Commitment

The biggest news of November was the Senators signing centre Shane Pinto to a four-year, $30-million contract extension. Pinto came out of the gate quickly, scoring seven goals in his first six games. Not that anyone could keep up that pace, but he has since cooled off, recording five goals in the 22 games that followed.

First Senators GM Mel Bridgman Passes Away

Former Ottawa Senators general manager Mel Bridgman passed away at the age of 70. Bridgman was the first GM in franchise history and lasted just one season in the role. He is better known to NHL fans for his playing career, primarily with the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s.

Tkachuk Brothers Launch ‘Wingmen’ Podcast

Tkachuk returned from his thumb injury, and while he and his brother Matthew were rehabbing, the two launched a new podcast. Wingmen, released every Wednesday, features the Tkachuk brothers swapping hockey stories and reacting to the latest NHL news.

Kaliyev Allegations Reviewed

The New York Post published an article detailing allegations from Arthur Kaliyev’s ex-girlfriend, who claims the 24-year-old borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from her to fund what she described as a gambling addiction. The accusations first surfaced in October through a series of social-media posts. The Senators have deferred comment to the league, which, along with the NHLPA, reviewed the situation. The NHL told the Post it found “no substantiation that anything Kaliyev was doing was in violation of our rules or applicable law.”

Senators Swap Blue-Liners

Curiously, the Senators never finalized a new deal with restricted free-agent defenseman Max Guenette, who had been with the organization for several years. His tenure ended in November when he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Dennis Gilbert. Gilbert was acquired twice by Ottawa in 2025, first as part of the Josh Norris trade in March. The Senators either couldn't or didn't want to re-sign him in the summer, and Gilbert joined the Flyers.

December

Ullmark Steps Away, Meriläinen Takes the Net

As Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark continued an inconsistent stretch in Ottawa’s net, he stepped away from the team in late December, requesting a leave of absence for personal reasons. Whatever those reasons were, the club announced that Ullmark had its full support. That left 23-year-old Leevi Meriläinen as the team’s starter for the foreseeable future.

Brassard Attempts Comeback in Switzerland

Former Senator Derick Brassard announced he would attempt a comeback at age 38, signing with Genève-Servette in Switzerland. At the time of writing, Brassard has appeared in one game. He had two stints with Ottawa — first in 2016–17, when he helped the Senators reach the Eastern Conference Final, scoring 11 points in 19 playoff games. He returned on a professional tryout in 2022–23, but that season ended due to a serious leg injury. Three years later, his desire to play clearly remains strong.

Belleville Makes Coaching Change Amid Skid

The Senators also made changes in Belleville, firing head coach David Bell while the team was mired in an eight-game losing streak. Bell was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Andrew Campbell.

Josh Norris Returns to Ottawa, Earns Ovation

Former Senator Josh Norris, now with the Buffalo Sabres, has already endured two lengthy injury stints since being traded in March. Now healthy, Norris has recorded 12 points in 12 games for Buffalo and made his return to Ottawa shortly before the Christmas break. He received a loud ovation from the crowd following a tribute video during a stoppage in play.

Senators Close 2025 Searching for a Step Forward

So ends the year that was for the Ottawa Senators in 2025. The club finished the calendar year as a slightly worse team than it was a year ago. Last season, Ottawa sat at 18-15-2 for a .556 points percentage. This year, they closed out 2025 at 18-15-5, good for a .539 percentage. The Senators will host the Washington Capitals as they kick off what they hope will be a bigger and better new year in 2026.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa

Senators Year In Review Part One, January To March: Big Trades, 4 Nations, And A Playoff Push
Senators Year In Review Part Two, April-June: The Stanley Cup Playoff Drought Finally Ends
Senators Year In Review Part Three, July-September: Free Agency, A Big Change For Sens Radio