Young Preds Fall 2-1 to Lightning in Preseason Opener, but Brady Martin Turns Heads

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The Nashville Predators opened the 2026-27 preseason with a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena. Nashville iced a young lineup against most of Tampa Bay's top players as the Predators look to determine the final few spots on the roster.

Ilya Mikheyev put the Lightning up 1-0 just 1:33 into the game, redirecting a John Carlson shot past Juuse Saros. Nashville dug in and equalized at 7:39 in the opening frame on a Brady Martin highlight-reel goal, assisted by Reid Schaefer. Martin took the pass in the neutral zone from Schaefer and deked past a Tampa defender on the way to the net. He looked up and fired a wrist shot past Tampa Bay's top goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Trouble struck before the end of the period when Cole O'Hara turned the puck over in Nashville's zone to a wide open Conor Geekie in the middle of the ice. Geekie turned goalward and found what ultimately became the game-winning goal at 15:31 in the first period. The Preds struck the post twice on a late second-period power play but couldn't find the equalizer, and they were outshot 22-13.

Nashville hosts Tampa Bay on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena. Tampa Bay dressed Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, Victor Hedman, John Carlson and Vasilevskiy, while Nashville leaned on prospects and camp hopefuls outside of Saros, Nick Perbix and Tyson Jost. Veterans are limited to two of the four preseason games this year, so this was a real audition for the youngsters against established NHL players.

Head coach Andrew Brunette said he loved the effort, and he praised the detail and the way the group stuck together against an intimidating roster. At 7:39 of the first, the 19-year-old deked around a defenseman inside the blue line, drove down the right wing, and snapped a shot past Vasilevskiy to tie the game. It was his first goal since arriving in Nashville, and he credited Schaefer's pass off the boards for setting it up.

Brunette liked the Martin-Schaefer pairing, especially early, though he wants more consistency from Martin in the third period. He's had a strong preseason and has put himself in consideration for one of the final roster spots. Geekie's go-ahead goal came unassisted off a Nashville turnover, the kind of mistake that stings against a lineup this good. The Preds also generated just 13 shots to Tampa Bay's 22.

Martin and Joakim Kemell both hit the post on the same late second-period power play, and that was as close as Nashville came to tying it. With the camp condensed, roster decisions are coming fast, since the Preds have to get from 55 players to 23 by Sept. 28. Brunette said urgency is at a premium. He stopped 20 of 22 shots and looked sharp and composed as he anchored a young Nashville lineup.

Brunette called him tremendous, saying there was little excess movement in his game. He assisted on Martin's goal and drove a line that played well against Tampa's veterans for the first two periods. Joe Gaither covers the Nashville Predators for Nashville Predators On SI. He also oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral.

He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Miami, Missouri and Vanderbilt college On SI sites.

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