Predators Stage Late Comeback to Defeat Golden Knights 5-4 in OT

With just 15 minutes remaining in regulation against the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday, it appeared as though the Nashville Predators' 17-game point streak could be coming to an end. But this team simply refused to quit.

Down 4-1 in the third period against a desperate Golden Knights team, the Predators needed to mount a comeback, and they relied on their dynamic top forward line to get it done. The Predators scored three times in an eight-minute span – one goal each from Ryan O'Reilly, then Filip Forsberg, then Gustav Nyquist.

“We’ve built a reputation on our third periods here lately,” Forsberg said. “Most of them have been kind of pulling away when we have the lead going in or tying it up or whatever, going quick. This one was a little tougher of a challenge going into it, but the boys answered the bell.”

O’Reilly cut the Golden Knights' lead to 4-2 at 5:52 of the third period, scoring his 25th goal of the season from the slot off a feed from Nyquist. Forsberg made it 4-3 with his 40th goal when he poked in the rebound of a Jason Zucker shot. The Golden Knights unsuccessfully challenged the play for offside, resulting in a power play for the Predators. Nyquist proceeded to tie the score on the man advantage with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle for his 25th goal of the season, and the 4-1 game was suddenly 4-4.

Related: Forsberg, O'Reilly and Nyquist Embody Predators' 'Relentless' Play

“That's not an easy spot to be in,” O’Reilly said of starting the third period with a three-goal deficit. “I think everyone just rallies around each other and picks each other up in that situation. No one goes rogue. Everyone just kind of comes together. And when you do that and find a way to claw back in the game, it's an impressive thing that we have to keep going.”

Nyquist's goal forced overtime and extended the Nashville's NHL-best point streak to 18 games (16-0-2), but Roman Josi's overtime heroics secured the Predators' sixth consecutive win and two crucial points in the playoff standings.

"There’s a lot of belief,” said Josi, who scored 40 seconds into overtime to lift the Predators to a 5-4 win. “There’s a lot of confidence in this room. Like I said before, there’s a lot of trust in our game. We trust ourselves that we can play a really good game. We’re not going to have it every night but I think we showed, especially in the last couple of games, there’s times where we maybe didn’t have it as much but we found a way to get it back. That was the same thing tonight. I think that’s the sign of a really good team.”

Every playoff team needs its star players to show up, and Nashville's stars showed up in a playoff-like game against the Golden Knights. Even in the face of adversity, the Predators rallied together and rose to the challenge – something they'll have to do a lot more of in the postseason.

“When things haven’t gone well, we have stuck with the program," O'Reilly said. "We rely on each other and we have different guys stepping up at different times all throughout this run. We’re preparing for the playoffs. We're building our game for them, and we have to keep growing it. There’s a lot of work left to get in the playoffs first, but it was nice to see that building tonight."