Stamkos scores in regulation and only goal in shootout to lead Predators over Lightning 5-4

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored the tying goal in regulation and the only goal of the shootout to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

Reid Schaefer, Adam Edstrom and Jayden Struble also scored and Justus Annunen made 22 saves in regulation and overtime for the Predators, who had lost two straight. Filip Forsberg and Nick Perbix each had a pair of assists.

Just one day after reportedly asking to be traded, Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov had three assists. John Carlson had a goal and an assist, Jake Guentzel, Victor Hedman and Conor Geekie also scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the Lightning, losers of three of four.

Nashville had lost their first five games that had extended past regulation this season before Saturday.

Stamkos, the former Lightning captain, made it 4-4 with a power-play goal at 7:27 of the third.

It was the 246th power-play goal of Stamkos’ career, tying him with Phil Esposito for sixth in NHL history.

Schaefer scored the game’s first goal at 11:14 of the opening period.

Coming into the Tampa Bay zone on the right side on a two-on-one break with Jonathan Marchessault, Schaefer fired a wrist shot that beat Vasilevskiy on the far side. It was Schaefer’s first goal of the season.

Carlson made it 1-1 at 13:38 of the first when his slap shot from the right side deflected off the stick of Edstrom and past Annunen.

Kucherov has assists in three straight games.

Guentzel’s goal just 18 seconds after the opening faceoff of the second period gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead, but that lead was short-lived, as Edstrom’s goal at 45 seconds of the second evened the game once again.

Lightning: Host Detroit on Tuesday night.

Predators: Host on Carolina on Tuesday night.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous (51) watches as a shot by teammate John Carlson gets past Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen (29) for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Nashville Predators left wing Reid Schaefer (49) is congratulated at the bench after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman John Carlson, center, celebrates after scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17) is defended by Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Saying the president was “grasping at straws,” a federal judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice, ruling that the president did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice as required by law. The ruling said the lawsuit had attempted to “manufacture” flaws in the Journal’s investigative reporting.

When a case is thrown out “with prejudice,” it cannot be refiled again and the dismissal is permanent and incontrovertible.

The dismissal is a blow to Trump and his administration, which have both pursued adversarial relationships with news organizations during his second term. In addition to the Journal, he is embroiled in lawsuits involving the BBC, The Associated Press and — most recently — CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which are suing him for restored access after he banished them from the White House in mid-September.

Trump has denounced media outlets that write things to which he objects and frequently calls them “fake news” and insults their journalists.

The lawsuit against the Journal was over a story it published last year describing a sexually suggestive letter and drawing that the paper said bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The letter was reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a birthday album for Epstein years before he was first arrested in 2006 and subsequently had a falling-out with Trump.

The letter bearing Trump’s name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the newspaper.

Trump denied writing it and called the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, accused the paper and its reporters of having “knowingly and recklessly” published “numerous false, defamatory, and disparaging statements,” which, it alleged, caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” to the president.

Gayles previously dismissed the suit in April, saying Trump had failed to make the argument that the article was published with the intent to be malicious. But he gave the president a chance to file an amended complaint, which he did in May.

In Saturday's ruling, the judge cited the Supreme Court's landmark 1964 ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. That decision made it harder for public figures to win libel lawsuits because it requires proof that a media outlet knowingly published something false or showed a reckless disregard for the truth.

“The Amended Complaint falls short of pleading actual malice,” Gayles wrote. “Indeed, the allegations regarding malice are conclusory, vague, sometimes inconsistent with the Article, and often irrelevant to whether Defendants knew or should have known that the statements in the Article were purportedly false.”

The judge also noted that the Journal's story did not ignore or minimize Trump's denial, “Rather, it informed readers that President Trump decried the Letter as a fake and denied writing it.”

Gayles also said several other allegations in the lawsuit did not have merit.

President Donald Trump walks from the podium after speaking at a campaign rally at the Ocean Center, in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)