For a second straight game, the Nashville Predators were behind the ball less than 20 seconds into a game and could not recover.
Sacrificing a goal 11 seconds into the game was just the beginning as the Predators were blown out by the Florida Panthers, 8-3, on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
It's the most goals the Predators have allowed in a game since they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 8-4, on April 1, 2025, and it's their eighth loss in nine games.
Similar to their loss to the Avalanche on Saturday, the goal scored in the first minute of the game came off a dump into the zone and the opponent loading up the left side of the ice.
Carter Verhaeghe got to the puck first after it was dumped into the Predators' zone off the face-off and was able to find A.J. Greer on the left side of the slot for a quick shot and score.
On the second goal, Sam Reinhart shoved Nick Perbix off the puck behind the net before moving it to Uvis Balinskis and then Evan Rodrigues for the goal.
Filip Forsberg and Fedor Svechkov both scored in the first period to tie the game at two. It was Svechkov's first goal of the season and just his second point of the year.
Jesper Boqvist scored 59 seconds later to give the lead back to the Panthers and Sam Bennett scored off a rebound to restore Florida's two-goal lead. All in all, there were six goals in the first 20 minutes of the game.
In the second period, Gustav Forsling scored a shot from the point to bump the Panthers' lead to 5-2. Goalie Juuse Saros was pulled for Justus Annunen after allowing five goals on 15 shots.
Nick Blankenburg responded on the power play two minutes into the third period to cut the Panthers' lead back down to two and possibly start a Nashville rally. It was just the 11th Predators power play goal this season
The comeback effort was silenced as Florida scored three unanswered goals, walking away with a whopping 8-3 victory.
Nashville had a wide 39-26 shot advantage and won 57.1% of its face-offs. It had also converted on 1-of-3 power play opportunities and was in the box just twice. Florida also gave away the puck 15 times and the Predators outhit the Panthers, 25-19.
Florida also had just four shots in the second period and seven in the third period, meaning that it scored four goals on 11 shots in the 40-minute stretch.
Statistically, Nashville was the better team, but its defense faltered at every turn. This was the second time this season that Saros had been pulled and Annunen is still winless on the year.
Saros made 11 saves on 16 shots. Annunen had seven saves on 10 shots.
The Predators have been outscored 15-3 in their last three games, and have not won at home since Nov. 1. If Nashville doesn't defeat the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, it'll finish the month of November 1-5-1 at Bridgestone Arena.
It faces two road challenges next in the Detroit Red Wings (Wednesday) and the Chicago Blackhawks (Friday). Detroit is second in the Atlantic Division and Chicago has a surprising start to the year at 10-8-4.
The Predators need some momentum, as they are ranked dead last in the NHL with 16 points in 22 games.
Up next: Nashville Predators (6-12-4) at Detroit Red Wings (13-9-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at Little Cesars Arena at 6 p.m. CST