The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena as Juuse Saros made 29 saves and the power play struck twice in the first period.
All three goals came in the first 16 minutes. Miro Heiskanen opened the scoring just 47 seconds in, Steven Stamkos answered four minutes later, and Hoglander’s tip gave Nashville the lead for good. Dallas outshot Nashville 30-26 but could not break through again, while Casey DeSmith stopped 24 of 26 shots in the loss.
How the Predators Stars recap was decided
Dallas needed less than a minute to strike, with Heiskanen beating Saros on a wrist shot off assists from Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston. Nashville answered quickly. At 4:46, Stamkos scored off a snap shot set up by Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi, tying it 1-1.
The deciding goal came with the Predators on the power play. Hoglander deflected a shot past DeSmith at 15:49 of the first period, with Jack Ahcan and Alexander Kerfoot drawing assists, and Nashville never trailed again. The Predators finished 2-for-3 on the power play, while Dallas was held scoreless on its lone man-advantage chance.
Top performers
Saros stopped 29 of 30 shots for a .967 save percentage. Stamkos led Nashville with a goal and an assist for the Predators Stars recap. Hoglander scored the winner.
Heiskanen scored for Dallas. DeSmith made 24 saves.
What it means
Nashville improved to 1-1-0 to open the season, moving into fifth place in the 2026-27 Central Division with two points. Dallas dropped to 0-2-0 and sits last in the division with zero points through two games. The result also gave the Predators a 1-0 lead in the early season series between the two teams.
What’s next
Dallas remains winless at 0-2-0 and faces its next challenge on the road. Nashville is 1-1-0. For more on these teams, see the Blues beat Stars recap and the Stars vs Predators preview.
Official statistics: ESPN (official league data).
