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Steven Stamkos is on the doorstep of another milestone in his storied NHL career.
In a 4-3 win for the Nashville Predators over Utah on Dec. 29, Stamkos scored two goals in the third period — the first tied the game, the second gave the Predators the lead — putting him one away from career goal No. 600.
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"It wasn't pretty out there, but we had a chance 2-2 going into the third to grind out a win and we found a way," Stamkos told FanDuel Sports Network after the game.
It was also the first goal for Stamkos at Delta Center, where the Utah Mammoth, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, now call home. He has scored in 33 NHL arenas.
"It was nice to get a couple tonight in a big situation," he said, "and to get the team a win makes it that much more special."
Stamkos is on the verge of joining an exclusive NHL club: Only 21 players have scored at least 600 goals. The most recent player to cross the mark was Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby on Nov. 23, 2024.
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Stamkos scored 555 goals with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he spent the first 16 seasons of his career. In his first season with Nashville, he scored 27 goals to get him within 18 of the 600 mark heading into the 2025-26 season.
After scoring just four goals in his first 22 games, Stamkos caught fire in late November, with 11 goals in 15 games heading into the matchup with Utah. His first goal against the Mammoth came on the power play to tie the game 3-3. He scored less than two minutes later to put the Predators ahead 4-3.
It was Nashville's fourth win in five games.
"We've been talking about believing in the process and we've done that," Stamkos said. "Sometimes you get rewarded when you put your head down and work hard. We've been doing that a lot more lately and we're seeing some results."
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Next up, the Predators (17-17-4, 38 points) visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 31 (2 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Steven Stamkos nears milestone in Predators comeback win vs Mammoth
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