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Preds Survive Seguin Hat Trick, Beat Leafs in Shootout

Game 4: Predators 6 vs Maple Leafs 5

10/15/2025 • Neil Burkholder

oronto, Ontario — The Nashville Predators refused to break in a wild, back-and-forth battle Tuesday night, outlasting the Toronto Maple Leafs 6–5 in a shootout at Scotiabank Arena. Reilly Smith scored the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout, while Jake Allen stopped two of three Toronto attempts to secure the win.

Toronto’s Tyler Seguin recorded a hat trick in regulation, but Nashville’s response game—powered by three points each from defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Nick Jensen—proved to be the difference. Lawson Crouse and Nino Niederreiter converted in the shootout for Nashville, while Cutter Gauthier and Matt Coronato were denied by Allen.

“This was a character win for us,” Predators head coach Lane Lambert said. “There were momentum swings all night, but our group didn’t fold. We stayed with it, won battles late, and found a way to finish.”

Nashville trailed first when Seguin buried a wrist shot off a feed from Brandt Clarke at 6:27 of the opening period. The Predators answered late with two goals in 66 seconds—first from Samu Tuomaala, who snapped home his first of the season on an odd-man rush, then from Dumoulin, who stepped into a loose puck at the blue line and beat Jordan Binnington through traffic.

Toronto tied it late in the second on Seguin’s second of the night, but Robby Fabbri restored the Nashville lead just 2:14 later, finishing a rebound from in tight for a 3–2 advantage after 40 minutes.

The third period erupted offensively. Seguin completed the hat trick on a power play at 2:30 to tie the game 3–3, but Nashville answered just 44 seconds later when Jensen walked into a shot from the right point on the power play to reclaim the lead. Less than three minutes later, Crouse extended the advantage to 5–3, hammering home a net-front rebound on the man advantage.

Toronto responded with resilience of its own. Adam Fantilli brought the Leafs within one midway through the third, and Emil Heineman tied it 5–5 with 2:25 remaining, deflecting a shot past Allen to force overtime.

Both teams traded chances in a four-minute stretch of 3-on-3 possession in overtime, but neither side could end it before the shootout.

In the shootout, Niederreiter scored blocker side in the opening round, while Allen stood tall early, stopping Gauthier with a patient glove. After Seguin scored to briefly tie the shootout, Crouse missed wide, setting up Smith’s game-winner—a confident wrister under the bar. Coronato’s final attempt was turned aside by Allen’s right pad.

“You just have to stay calm and trust your reads,” Allen said. “The guys in front of me battled hard tonight and earned those two points. I was happy I could finish it for them.”

The Predators finished 2-for-3 on the power play, marking their second straight game with multiple power play goals. Nashville also won the faceoff battle 47–41 and outhit the Maple Leafs 16–14.

“We’ve talked about getting contributions from everywhere,” Dumoulin said. “Tonight was one of those nights where we needed everybody. Special teams came through, guys blocked shots, and we stayed aggressive.”