In the opening seconds of the third period Thursday, Predators center Brady Martin was sniffing around the Columbus net for a potential rebound when a couple of Blue Jackets players took exception to his presence near the crease.

A quick burst of pushing and shoving ensued, with Martin giving as good as he got until his veteran linemates, Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg, jumped in to help him.

“I like the physical play,” Martin said with a smile after Nashville’s 2-1 opening night win in front of an announced crowd of 17,244 at Bridgestone Arena.

“Everyone’s a lot stronger than me, so I think I got to hit the gym. But yeah, [playing physically] is a part of my game, for sure.”

It was a night of many firsts for Martin, the fifth overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, who — at 18 years and 207 days — became the second youngest player ever to play his first game for the Predators.

Only former Preds forward Scott Hartnell — who debuted at 18 years, 171 days in 2000 — had debuted for Nashville at a younger age.

Playing in front of about 30 family members and friends from his hometown of Elmira, Ontario, Martin began his night with an age-old tradition — taking a solo “hot lap” around the rink during warm-ups before his teammates joined him on the ice.

The Preds didn’t waste any time getting him into the game either, as coach Andrew Brunette put Martin’s line on the ice to start the contest. He was flanked by the 31-year-old Forsberg and the 34-year-old O’Reilly, who have a combined 27 years of NHL experience, 1,934 games, 622 goals and 1,507 points between them.

“It [makes it] pretty easy,” Martin said of playing with the vets. “When you make mistakes, they cover for you. I guess we cover for each other. [But] to have them as veterans beside me, it’s a lot of fun. I know they’ve got my back.”

The 6-0, 185-pound Martin didn’t ring up big numbers in his first contest, as he was held without a shot on goal against the Blue Jackets. He did block a shot and won three-of-seven face-offs, while suffering a pair of defensive zone giveaways.

Martin was on the ice for Columbus’ lone goal in the first period, which might be part of the reason he saw just four shifts in the second period, and just three in the third, with Nashville trying to hold on to its 2-1 advantage.

Overall, Martin got 12:44 ice time, which included 2:07 of time on Nashville’s second power play unit.

“He hung in there like he has all camp, found a way to get through it, found a way to make a few plays,” Brunette said. “It was a great learning experience. I’m sure it was a lot of fun for him. The pace of the game has probably moved up about 20 percent since [preseason]. I think his eyes were wide open a little bit, but good for him. He’s a great kid. I thought he handled himself really well.”

Added O’Reilly: “I thought he did a great job. It’s tough coming into your first game, such emotion and everything like that. But he’s a worker and he’s a competitor. He’s out there and he plays a big game. He’s heavy, makes some great plays. It was fun to watch.”

Just how long Martin stays on the NHL level remains to be seen.

He can play up to nine games on the NHL level without burning a year off his rookie contract, so the Preds could still choose to send him back to juniors early in the season.

But that decision will come in time.

On Thursday, it was a night for Martin to soak in an atmosphere he described as “electric,” and to revel in that most important of NHL firsts — a win.

O’Reilly made sure of that, flipping a short-range backhand shot past Columbus goalie Jet Greaves 2:41 into the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie with the power play score.

“I just think your first game, you’re going to remember it for the rest of your life,” Martin said. “So I think just taking that [memory] away, and we won tonight, so I think that was huge, too.

“Just hanging out with the guys in the room here, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. It’s been a lot of fun.”