The Predators are reeling as Stephen Stamkos returns to Tampa for the first time

TAMPA — If Steven Stamkos wasn’t going to chase another Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay, he wanted to make sure he could win it at his next location.

If he and his family can’t spend the foreseeable future in the place that has become their second home, he wants to be in a city that his wife, Sandra, and three young children will enjoy. And if he couldn’t play with his best friend, Victor Hedman, he wanted to be around other players he was close to.

When he signed with the Predators, Stemkos saw it all. Nashville is an incredible city. He was reunited with one of his closest friends in defender Luke Schenn. And he saw more of the Lightning’s blueprint for success in what Predators general manager Barry Trotz was creating in Nashville.

The main elements were similar to those of the Lightning Cup winning teams. The Predators have one of the league’s best goaltenders in Juuse Saros, a top defenseman in Roman Josi, and an array of elite forwards in Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyqvist.

In the offseason, Trotz focused on acquiring players with proven playoff pedigree, such as Jonathan Marchessault, who won the Conn Smith Trophy with Vegas in 2023. Stemkos felt he could add to the group that would help the Predators take the next step in the postseason.

The Lightning will roll out the carpet for Stamkos on Monday in his first game at Amalie Arena with a welcome that has been months in the making.

Of all the well-thought-out video tributes the team creates for returning players, this one must surely be the most emotional for everyone in the building. Hopefully, this will be the first step back in moving away from the acrimonious rift between the Lightning and the face of their franchise for a decade and a half.

But as Stamkos returns as a contender for the first time, his new team has been one of the biggest disappointments of the first few weeks of the season.

Many teams have struggled in goal — the Oilers, Bruins and Flyers entered Saturday with records below .500 — but the Predators are off to a 2-5-0 start and had the third fewest points in the NHL after Friday’s games.

Entering Friday, the Predators led the league in shots per game (36.5) but had the second-worst shooting percentage (6.39), a number that should improve as the new players get used to each other. But Nashville was a poor 5-for-5 team, a combined minus-9 heading into Friday.

Stamkos, who was a career-worst minus-21 in his final season with the Lightning, started Saturday minus-6 with just one goal and one point that came on the power play.

Nashville has played better of late, winning back-to-back games after losing their first five. That allowed a combined two goals in those two games after previously allowing an average of 4.6.

Make no mistake, the Lightning struggled to fill Stamkos’ void, especially on the power play and in the faceoff circle. And Predators are too good to continue to be this bad. But Nashville’s lackluster start certainly wasn’t what Stamkos was hoping for as he hopes to capture another Cup this season.

Is the replacement of Kucherov a force decision?

The Lightning’s power play remains a work in progress as they try to replace long-time starter Stamkos, and it looks like they’re riding with Nikita Kucherov on his side for now.

Kucherov usually lines up along the right half wall, which allows him to see the ice and unload his shot with his left hand — or fake a shot and pass — more naturally. Playing left requires him to skate more to set up his next move and gives Brandon Hagel the opportunity to get more one-time chances from the right wing as a lefty.

What this takes away is the natural synergy that Kucherov has created with Brayden Point. With Point at the rebound, Kucherov did a great job of faking a shot from the right wing and a touch pass to Point between the circles. After Point found space to score in the opener at Carolina, Kucherov said Point is the best player in the league who can find space in the bumper and score from there.

With Kucherov on the left, Point moves to the front net position along the left side of the net and Jake Guentzel moves to the slot. As the only right-handed shooter on the power play, Point’s role changes significantly, and his chances mostly come in the crease.

Point did score from that position in Tuesday’s win at New Jersey, diving in on the rebound of Anthony Cirelli’s shot from the right circle. Although the Lightning ran plenty of reps with that look in practice, they came away with just three full-game opportunities against Washington on Saturday with Kucherov on the left wing.

“It’s definitely a little bit different,” Point said Friday. “I’m so used to him just being able to make that fake pass at me. But when it’s on that (left) side, it’s like I’m downshifting. It’s a look we haven’t had a ton of in the game, (so) the repetition in practice has definitely helped.”

If anyone can do it, it is Kucherov.

Back on home ice in Brandon

On Friday, the Lightning skated at the TGH Ice Plex for the first time since Hurricane Milton. The facility was severely damaged and lost power for nearly a week after the storm.

Without electricity, both layers of ice melted and became unusable, forcing Lightning to conduct all of her training in the Amalia Arena. There was also flooding in the 18,000-foot facility the team added to the building in 2018.

About 2 feet of replacement drywall could be seen in the facility’s main hallway Friday, although the main locker room was undamaged.

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