Final
DAL at NSH game report
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · 7:00 p.m. CT · Bridgestone Arena
Predators beat the Stars 2–1 in an even game: expected goals were 2.3–2.2 and 13–9 in high-danger chances.
Team comparison
- 2Goals1
- 2.33Expected goals2.16
- 2.015-on-5 expected goals1.64
- 13High-danger chances9
- 26Shots on goal30
- 52Shot attempts65
- 475-on-5 shot attempts56
- 5:36Power-play time2:09
5-on-5 shares for NSH: 45.6% of shot attempts, 55.2% of expected goals.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish.
Shot map
By strength
| NSH at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 50:47 | 47–56 | 2.01–1.64 | 0–1 |
| Power play | 5:36 | 5–7 | 0.32–0.53 | 2–0 |
| Shorthanded | 2:09 | 0–1 | 0.00–0.00 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 1:28 | 0–1 | 0.00–0.00 | 0–0 |
Read pairs as NSH–DAL. “Power play” means NSH had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juuse Saros NSH | 29/30 | .967 | 2.16 | +1.16 |
| Casey DeSmith DAL | 24/26 | .923 | 2.33 | +0.33 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingPredators5.7Stars5.9
| ★Top three of the night: Miro HeiskanenDDAL | 7.6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 24:35 | 57.9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Nils HoglanderFNSH | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11:37 | 78.9 |
| ★Top three of the night: Mikko RantanenFDAL | 7.2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23:55 | 53.3 |
| Wyatt JohnstonFDAL | 6.9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 22:50 | 53.5 |
| Juuse SarosGNSH | 6.8 | 0 | 0 | — | 59:57 | — |
| Jack AhcanDNSH | 6.7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5:49 | 57.1 |
| Thomas HarleyDDAL | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25:57 | 65.9 |
| Sam SteelFDAL | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16:09 | 70.0 |
| Steven StamkosFNSH | 6.4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20:02 | 42.3 |
| Matthew WoodFNSH | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16:06 | 64.0 |
| Nils LundkvistDDAL | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:01 | 57.5 |
| Ryan O'ReillyFNSH | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19:53 | 42.3 |
| Adam WilsbyDNSH | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:33 | 60.7 |
| William TrudeauDNSH | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:15 | 63.0 |
| Alexander KerfootFNSH | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16:23 | 48.4 |
| Casey DeSmithGDAL | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 58:24 | — |
| Roope HintzFDAL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16:03 | 59.3 |
| Jamie BennFDAL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13:12 | 63.2 |
| Radek FaksaFDAL | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:28 | 66.7 |
| Oskar BäckFDAL | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9:38 | 55.6 |
| Esa LindellDDAL | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19:11 | 52.8 |
| Brady SkjeiDNSH | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18:05 | 50.0 |
| Colin BlackwellFDAL | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:29 | 60.0 |
| Jason RobertsonFDAL | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:50 | 55.6 |
| Tyler SeguinFDAL | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12:34 | 45.2 |
| Filip ForsbergFNSH | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21:40 | 50.0 |
| Roman JosiDNSH | 5.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24:38 | 30.8 |
| Adam EdstromFNSH | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13:59 | 40.7 |
| Justin HryckowianFDAL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:30 | 41.7 |
| Arttu HyryFDAL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:29 | 45.0 |
| Nick PerbixDNSH | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:39 | 48.6 |
| Mavrik BourqueFNSH | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18:05 | 42.4 |
| Lian BichselDDAL | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:12 | 40.0 |
| Tyler MyersDDAL | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:27 | 39.1 |
| Jack DruryFNSH | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:38 | 37.0 |
| Ross ColtonFNSH | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:19 | 38.2 |
| Jonathan MarchessaultFNSH | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16:22 | 32.3 |
| Nicolas HagueDNSH | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21:00 | 28.9 |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Predators
Forward lines
- Stamkos – O'Reilly – Kerfoot9:59 · 9–12 · xG 0.6–0.4
- Marchessault – Colton – Bourque8:33 · 7–13 · xG 0.1–0.3
- Forsberg – Hoglander – Wood7:03 · 13–3 · xG 0.6–0.1
Defence pairs
- Josi – Hague16:46 · 8–25 · xG 0.3–0.7
- Skjei – Perbix14:40 · 16–16 · xG 0.7–0.5
- Wilsby – Trudeau9:24 · 13–9 · xG 0.8–0.3
Stars
Forward lines
- Rantanen – Johnston – Hryckowian7:51 · 6–12 · xG 0.4–0.7
- Seguin – Hintz – Robertson5:47 · 5–6 · xG 0.1–0.7
- Benn – Steel – Hyry5:25 · 3–2 · xG 0.1–0.1
- Blackwell – Faksa – Bäck5:06 · 3–2 · xG 0.1–0.1
Defence pairs
- Lundkvist – Harley14:46 · 19–13 · xG 0.7–0.7
- Lindell – Heiskanen13:17 · 13–15 · xG 0.4–0.8
- Myers – Bichsel11:49 · 8–12 · xG 0.2–0.4
Three stars
- ★S. StamkosNSH · 1G 0A
- ★★J. SarosNSH · .967 SV%
- ★★★R. O'ReillyNSH · 0G 1A
Scoring
Period 1
- 00:47DAL M. Heiskanen (from M. Rantanen, W. Johnston)1–0
- 04:46NSH S. Stamkos pp (from R. O'Reilly, R. Josi)1–1
- 15:49NSH N. Hoglander pp (from J. Ahcan, A. Kerfoot)1–2