NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we identify the key advanced metrics surrounding Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos during his bounce-back season.
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Steven Stamkos has re-emerged as one of the game’s elite goal-scorers backed by strong advanced stats and is keeping the Nashville Predators in Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Stamkos, who’s 36 years old, is turning back the clock with 34 goals in 70 games, tied for 14th in the NHL, this season. He leads the League in game-winning goals (10) and is tied for the most hat tricks (two; including a four-goal game Dec. 11). Stamkos scored 27 goals in 82 games last season, his first with Nashville after leaving his longtime team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and signing a four-year contract with the Predators on July 1, 2024.
Stamkos also is among the NHL leaders in even-strength goals (24; tied for 12th), and the Predators (33-28-9; 75 points) currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 12 games remaining. Nashville is 6-3-1 in its past 10 games, and its four-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the NHL. Stamkos has five points (three goals, two assists), three power-play points and six shots on goal during that span.
Since Nov. 26, Stamkos is tied with Cole Caufield and Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead in goals (30 each). During that 48-game span, the Predators rank 11th in the NHL in points (27-16-5; 59 points) and fourth in the Western Conference, led by their experienced core of forwards Stamkos, Filip Forsberg, and Ryan O’Reilly, defenseman Roman Josi and goalie Juuse Saros.